West Ham's Record £45m Maxi Gomez Deal Falls Through After Failing to Agree Payment Structure

West Ham United are believed to have seen their proposed club record signing of Celta Vigo forward Maxi Gomez fall through after the two clubs failed to agree on a payment structure.

In the same week that Marko Arnautovic finally sealed a move to China, it was reported that West Ham were on the brink of signing Gomez by preparing to trigger the Uruguayan's £45m buyout clause, scaring off Champions League qualifiers Valencia in the process.

The £45m deal would have smashed the Hammers' club record transfer, which currently stands at the £36m paid to Lazio for Brazilian winger Felipe Anderson last summer, and was billed as a big statement of intent ahead of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign.

However, barely a day later, the Gomez deal appears to now lie in tatters.

The reason given by Sky Sports is that West Ham were unable to agree a payment structure with Celta Vigo, which would have set out when and how much of the total £45m was paid at what time. Instead, Valencia are now expected to sign Gomez after offering cash plus players.

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It is no doubt a blow for West Ham, who are in desperate need of attacking reinforcements. With and Andy Carroll released at the end of June and both Arnautovic and Lucas Perez sold, Javier Hernandez and the untested Xande Silva are the only recognised first team strikers.

To make matter worse, Hernandez has been linked with a summer move to Fiorentina.

West Ham confirmed an impressive £24m deal for Villarreal midfielder Pablo Fornals in June, but the only other arrivals so far this summer have been goalkeepers David Martin and Roberto from Millwall and Espanyol respectively, both aged 33 and both free signings.