West Ham Hopeful Of Completing Deal for Celta Vigo Forward Despite Having Offer Rejected
West Ham are keen to continue their summer transfer activity with a deal for Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez, but their opening offer for the Uruguayan has been knocked back.
According to Galician radio station Radio Galega, the Hammers first bid of €30m (£26.75m) was deemed insufficient, but Celta Vigo have set an asking price at which they would consider selling the 21-year-old.
A €50m (£44.5m) bid would seal the deal, as that would trigger the release clause in Gomez's contract at the Abanca-Balaidos. However, an offer of €40m (£35m) could also be enough to tempt the La Liga side into a sale.
Gomez has only been playing in Europe for 12 months, having joined Celta from Defensor Sporting last summer. A stunning debut season saw him find the net 18 times in 36 La Liga appearances.
This form earned him a place in Oscar Tabarez's Uruguay squad for the World Cup this summer, where he featured against Russia in the group stages and France in the quarter finals.
Gomez would join a West Ham squad which already has a distinctly South American flavour to it. The Argentine pair of Pablo Zabaleta and Manuel Lanzini were at the club before Chilean Manuel Pellegrini became the club's new manager this summer.
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He has since added Paraguayan defender Fabian Balbuena and Brazilian midfielder Felipe Anderson to his squad, the latter for a club record fee.
Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop, Ryan Fredericks, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko have also moved to the London Stadium in what has been a very busy summer for the Hammers.
The English transfer window closes on 9 August this year, three days before West Ham kick off their season against Liverpool at Anfield, so the Hammers will need to move swiftly in order to make Gomez their eighth summer signing.
