Javier Hernandez must lower his wage demands if he is to complete a transfer to West Ham United this summer, according to reports.
Slaven Bilic has made signing a top-quality striker his main priority this summer, but he is so far finding this a rather frustrating exercise. This is highlighted by the abandoned attempt to get Olivier Giroud, after learning that the Olympic Stadium was not his first choice should he leave Arsenal.
Earlier this summer it looked as though Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho was headed for the Hammers, only for Bilic to decide against using as much as £25million of his budget on the youngster. And two bids for Marko Arnautovic have failed to persuade Stoke City to sell the Austrian.
Elsewhere, former Blackburn Rovers flop Anthony Modeste, who has rebuilt his reputation at Cologne, is no longer an option after he joined Tianjin Quanjian for a fee of around £34million. Cedric Bakambu, another target, is also off the agenda after he signed a new five-year contract at Villarreal.
And Bilic’s pursuit of Hernandez is also proving to be a troublesome one. Paying the £13million fee to prise him from Bayer Leverkusen is no problem, but the Hammers are reluctant to meet the former Manchester United striker’s wage demands of a reported £140,000-per-week.
Whilst this deal is by no means dead in the water, for it to happen it will need Hernandez to lower his demands. This is something Bilic is still hopeful he will agree to do, which would allow him to sign a player who won two Premier League titles during his previous spell in England.
At the other end of the field, West Ham appear to be having more luck in signing a new goalkeeper. Despite earlier this summer insisting he is only available on a permanent transfer, Manchester City have reportedly agreed to let Joe Hart spend another season on loan from the Etihad Stadium.
