West Ham have been dealt some bad news in their quest to land Manuel Pellegrini’s top target in the summer.
According to Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, Maxi Gomez is now Barcelona’s first-choice option as they look to sign a striker for next season.
West Ham’s chances of landing Gomez have now surely been damaged as Barcelona enter the race.
West Ham’s January pursuit of Maxi Gomez
Many media outlets reported West Ham’s interest in Gomez, including The Daily Mail.
When it looked like Marko Arnautovic was heading to China, West Ham stepped up their interest in the 22-year-old.
Gomez had netted nine goals for struggling Celta Vigo and West Ham were eager to take a punt on him.
With a £43.5m release clause (as per The Guardian), any move would have smashed West Ham’s transfer record and in the end, the Hammers decided to leave this until the summer.
But now it seems that Barcelona see the Uruguay international as the direct replacement for his international team-mate Luis Suarez.
Barcelona interest is bad news
Whether there is truth to this rumour or not is irrelevant in a sense because of the fees involved with Barcelona interested.
Gomez has a buy-out clause but West Ham will hope to pay that in instalments. If Barcelona are linked, then Celta Vigo’s bargaining position is strengthened.
And if Barcelona do hold a genuine interest, then West Ham have little hope of convincing Gomez to change country and move to East London instead.
Barcelona is one of the biggest draws in world football; West Ham simply cannot compete if the Spanish giants show an interest.
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