West Ham are all set to launch a £25 million bid for Christian Benteke at some point this week, according to reports from the English media.
Benteke has been out of favour at the club ever since German manager Jurgen Klopp took over, and has reportedly been looking for a way out of Anfield. Klopp has constantly shown an affinity to start with the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi ahead of Benteke. In fact, he has even started with Roberto Firmino as a false no.9 when the two have not been available.
West Ham, who are set to move into the new Olympic stadium next season, have been looking to boost their attack over the summer. According to a report in The Telegraph, the Hammers are set to launch a £25 million bid for the Belgian some time this week.
Co-owner David Sullivan has confirmed that West Ham are looking to sign a few forwards, and are willing to break their transfer record of £17.5 million, which they paid for Andy Carroll, to get quality players into their squad.
“We put in a bid today for £30 million for a player and other bids will be going in,” Sullivan said to Sky Sports. “We are going to make a £20 million or £25 million bid for a player in England this week. So whatever happens we’ll bring a top striker in. It’s a statement of intent. We’ll spend between £30 million-£50 million on transfers this summer. But you’ve got to build it up gradually. You can’t compete with the likes of Man United overnight.”
The player in question (who they have put in a bid for) is said to be Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette. The Hammers are also said to be interested in Benteke’s fellow Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi.
The Hammers could pose a serious threat to the top four in the Premier League , with such talented forwards set to join the club that already has excellent playmakers like Dimitri Payet and Mark Noble in their team.
Timo Horn not ruling out Anfield switch
With Liverpool FC reportedly looking to sign a new goalkeeper in the summer, FC Cologne custodian Timo Horn has indicated that he is inclined to take an offer from the Reds seriously. However, the 22 year old was also quick to point out that he is yet to receive any offers from the Merseyside club.
“The fact is that there is still no concrete offer from Liverpool or any other clubs,” Horn was quoted as saying in German newspaper Bild. “My heart stays in Cologne, for now I stand in goal for Cologne next season. But I have always said that I will sit down to address it when an offer from a top club comes.”
Ever since the arrival of Klopp, a number of German players have been linked with a move to Anfield. While all of them may not be true, many reports have suggested that Klopp will try to sign a top quality goalkeeper in the summer in order to give some competition to Simon Mignolet. Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was tipped to be the favourite to join the Reds.
However, with Ter Stegen committing his future to Barcelona recently, Klopp now needs to turn his attention to the other available keepers.
