West Ham United Ready To Submit Bid For £20m Striker
West Ham United are preparing an offer to bring Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres to the Premier League, according to reports.
What's the latest on Gyokeres to West Ham?
The Sky Blues forward has now entered the final 18 months of his contract at the Building Society Arena and being Mark Robins' top-performing offensive player, alongside establising himself as the current second-highest goalscorer in the Championship, has caught the eye of David Moyes and the Irons hierarchy.
Back in November, Football League World credited the Irons, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Everton with an interest in the 24-year-old, who could well be on the move this summer should a sizable enough proposal be put on the table. 90min have further reported that the Midlands outfit are bracing themselves for bids at the end of the season, and have therefore set a price tag of £20m, which is a £4m increase on the £16m that they were demanding in January.
Now, according to Football Insider, West Ham are "ready to fight" their fellow competitors to make sure that they win the race for Gyokeres ahead of the 2023/24 term. The London Stadium outfit are supposedly ready to offer their target the "best financial package" above all of his other potential suitors, meaning that Moyes' side are "well-placed" to come out on top. The hierarchy are "ready to submit" a large offer to see off their rivals in the form of Leeds, Everton, Palace, Brentford and Fulham.
Should West Ham splash the cash on Gyokeres?
West Ham acquired the services of Aston Villa's former striker Danny Ings in January, but Michail Antonio's future was extremely uncertain having admitted to a close friend that he could have departed before the end of the window, so should he leave at the end of the season, Gyokeres would be the perfect attacking replacement.
The Sweden international has a remarkable return in the final third this season having racked up 26 goal contributions (18 goals and eight assists) in 38 Championship appearances, where he's currently averaging 3.1 shots per game, form which has seen him take home an outstanding eight man-of-the-match awards.
The 6 foot 2 target man also ranks in the 99th percentile for progressive carries and the 98th percentile for most shot-creating actions, via FBRef, showing that he's always looking to produce moments of magic even when he's not always on the scoresheet.
Dubbed an "unplayable" attacker by his Coventry teammate Maxime Biamou, Gyokeres can operate on the left and right wings, as a second striker and even on the left and right side of a midfield four alongside his natural centre-forward role, so would add plenty of versatility to Moyes' squad.