A Denis Zakaria red herring is floating around for West Ham as wildly conflicting claims are yet again made over an imminent deal with Juventus.
West Ham have been heavily linked with a move for Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria. Speculation, claim and counter claim has been ad nauseam.
Last week it was being reported that Swiss international Zakaria would likely be a West Ham imminently.
Identical claims were made the week before that and Hammers News questioned whether Zakaria was really the best West Ham can do as they look to make their first signing of the summer transfer window.
We then reported on counter claims from a board confidant that West Ham were not close to agreeing a deal for the midfielder and that there was only ‘loose interest’ from the Hammers.
A host of outlets, including Give Me Sport, have been reporting – yet again – over the last 24 hours that a deal is on the brink of being agreed between West Ham and Juve for the 26-year-old.
But there’s a Zakaria red herring as wildly conflicting claims are made over a West Ham deal with Juventus.
Because websites Juve FC and TuttoJuve have responded to claims that a deal is close for Zakaria by insisting the opposite is true.
“Juventus and West Ham still not close to an agreement for Zakaria,” the reports state.
“West Ham is reluctant to pay more than 18 million euros for the Swiss midfielder’s signature. On the other hand, Juventus is seeking at least 20 million euros (£17m) for his transfer, leading to a gap in negotiations between the two sides.
“As the transfer talks continue, it remains to be seen whether they can bridge the valuation gap and reach an agreement for Zakaria’s departure from Juventus to West Ham.”
It has previously been claimed by club insiders that the player has been recommended to the club by new technical director Tim Steidten, who knows all about Zakaria from the midfielders’ time in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach.
But the Hammers are allegedly concerned over the players injury record and are only interested in a loan deal.
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