Report Claims West Ham Deal for Fiorentina Striker Collapsed at Last Minute During Summer Window

Serie A side Fiorentina believed striker Khouma Babacar had been sold to Premier League side West Ham in the summer window, before the deal fell through at the last minute.

According to Corriere Dello Sport (via HITC), a £13m deal had been agreed between the two clubs, but it fell through at the 11th hour, meaning the side from Florence were unable to sign Filip Djordevic. 

Babacar joined Fiorentina in 2008, when he was believed to be the next big thing. However, the 24-year-old Senegalese striker has not quite lived up to the hype and has failed to net more than 10 goals in a Serie A season.

In 2014, Babacar became a regular in the first team at Fiorentina, after loan spells around Europe. Last season the Senegal international scored 14 goals in all competitions, but played second fiddle to Croatian striker and former Blackburn man Nikola Kalinic. 

During the summer Kalinic joined AC Milan, which Babacar thought was a good move as he would become the clubs number one striker. Unfortunately, Fiorentina signed two new strikers during the summer and sought to offload the Senegalese striker.

Babacar has not started a single game this season, and therefore if West Ham were to come back for the forward the previous price of £13m would surely be too much of an asking price.

Gabriele Maltinti/GettyImages

It will be interesting to see if West Ham go back for Babacar, given that they are under new management now with David Moyes, and with the signing of Chicarito in the summer, it might be the case that the Hammers are not interested in the Senegalese forward anymore.