OPINION
West Ham have surely been handed a boost in their reported pursuit of FC Basel forward Albian Ajeti as Sky Sports have claimed that the player would prefer to join a Premier League side.
Reliable Hammers source ExWHUemployee previously claimed that the Hammers’ scouts cast their eyes over the 22-year-old attacker while Swiss outlet Blick claimed Manuel Pellegrini’s side were thinking about making a bid just under 10 million francs (£8.45million) for him.
Yet despite not acting in their pursuit just yet, it seems the chances of West Ham being able to sign him have improved.
Sky Sports’ live transfer blog (11:29am, Monday, August 5th) stated that Championship side Brentford were interested in the FC Basel attacker as they viewed him as a potential replacement for Neal Maupay, who is the subject of talks about a move to Brighton.
The broadcaster reported that Brentford would find it difficult to reach an agreement with Ajeti as he would prefer to join a Premier League side.
Sky Sports also added that Brentford wouldn’t be the only side likely to miss out on the Switerzland international’s services, as they referenced a previous report by the Express & Star that claimed West Bromwich Albion had been put off signing him due to his wage demands.
This makes it seem like the Hammers not only have a clear path to Ajeti but that he may be easy to convince to join as if he prefers a move to the Premier League, he’ll likely all but jump at the opportunity to move to the London Stadium.
He would also be an excellent signing for the Hammers to make.
Ajeti ended up being involved in a goal every 101.25 minutes, as per the Transfermarkt, in his 2017/18 campaign after scoring 21 goals, while assisting 11 in the 43 outings he made across all competitions.
The 22-year-old would also be raring to go and potentially able to hit the ground running if signed as he has already made a flying start to his 2019/19 season.
Ajeti has scored two goals and registered two assists in three outings so far, and may have had more if an injury didn’t stop him featuring in Basel’s latest league game against FC Thun.
However, his injury may not be too serious at all as Blick even reference it when continuing to question whether he could be heading to the Premier League.
Yet even if he has a minor issue, the Hammers should take advantage of him preferring a Premier League move currently and try to get him through the door before the transfer window shuts.
