West Ham United are being linked with new names everyday since the transfer window opened.
They range from the sublime to the ridiculous.
But amongst the rumour and counter rumour there appears to be some very astute deals to be done.
According to reports Manuel Pellegrini wants two strikers, two midfielders, a defender and a back-up goalkeeper this summer.
Modest budget has Pellegrini bargain-hunting
He must do so on a modest budget of just £30 million. That’s unless he can somehow arrest the club’s dismal record when it comes to player sales in a bid to boost his kitty.
The Hammers have been poor salesmen over the last decade or so rarely getting anything like value for players whether they want to sell them or not.
For West Ham the key this summer more than ever is value for money.
Pellegrini and director of football Mario Husillos have already proved they have an eye for a bargain.
Kostas Fortounis won’t cost a fortune
So in their pursuit of a box-to-box midfielder this summer recently linked Kostas Fortounis looks a no-brainer.
According to Sport24 in Greece, West Ham have made a bid of just under £9million for the Olympiakos playmaker.
Given some of the prices bandied about in the modern game that is hardly breaking the bank.
And a look at Fortounis’s record suggests he would be a risk worth taking.
Get Pellegrini to the Greek
Fortounis scored 17 goals and assisted 16 last season. In fact the 26-year-old has 67 goals in 196 games for Olympiakos, some record for a midfielder.
Of course the fact the Greek league is one of Europe’s weakest raises question marks over the credibility of those figures.
But similar question marks were raised over the likes of Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop when they arrived from inferior leagues.
And Fortounis has performed well and even scored in European matches against top opposition such as AC Milan as well as at international level having made over 40 appearances for Greece.
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