West Ham Renew Maxi Gomez Interest as Crystal Palace Rival Hammers Over Aleksandar Mitrovic

15 May 2019 07:35

​West Ham have reportedly renewed their interest in signing Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez as they look to reshape their attacking options in preparation for the 2019/20 season.

With Aleksandar Mitrovic also a potential target, the Hammers seem intent on looking for a new target-man to replace Marko Arnautovic, whose long-term future at the club remains clouded despite signing a new deal at the end of January.

Reports in the ​Evening Standard have suggested that Gomez - who has netted an impressive 14 goals in ​La Liga during the 2018/19 campaign - has a buy-out clause in his Celta contract of £43.5m, with the Hammers making him their number one target this summer.

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The Hammers are keen to strengthen further after scraping a top ten finish this season, and the signing of Gomez, potentially along Fulham striker Mitrovic, would indicate that the club are willing to back Manuel Pellegrini to the hilt after forking out £100m on new recruits last summer.

Gomez's status as number one target may take into account interest in Mitrovic from Premier League rivals Crystal Palace, with the Serbian expected to cost around £30m, despite Fulham's relegation.

The 24-year old scored 11 goals for the Cottagers and contributed three assists, often shining in a Fulham side who struggled to cope defensively following their promotion from the Championship.

Aleksandar Mitrovic,Aron Gunnarsson

A key problem for West Ham last season was consistency in front of goal - with Arnautovic and ​Javier Hernandez enduring sticky patches in front of goal - though they did end up netting 17 strikes between them.

Gomez, who has been at Celta for the past two seasons, would be an ideal replacement if the Irons are to purge their squad this summer with flop signing Lucas Perez and injury prone Andy Carroll expected to depart the club.

Source: 90min