West Ham want Argentina striker Joaquin Correa but face competition from Aston Villa according to a new report from Italy.
There is no lack of irony about the reported interest from West Ham and Aston Villa in Serie A forward Joaquin Correa.
The January deal which saw the Hammers sign Danny Ings from Villa raised a few eyebrows.
Some Villa fans found the decision strange given Unai Emery’s lack of depth in that position.
For West Ham, Ings was seen as the answer to the team’s goalscoring woes in their bid to avoid relegation.
The reality thus far has proved somewhat different.
Ollie Watkins has come into his own with the responsibility of being Aston Villa’s main striker.
But Ings has only scored in one match for West Ham so far – bagging a brace in the win over Forest – and actually has more competition in east London than he did at Villa.
It is already abundantly clear Ings does not suit the lone striker role in the system David Moyes’ uses at West Ham.
The future of Michail Antonio and Gianluca Scamacca is unclear at West Ham. And Villa fans will be expecting a striker signing in the summer.
Report: West Ham want Argentina striker Joaquin Correa but face competition from Aston Villa
Now it seems the clubs will be competing against one another for a new forward in the next window.
West Ham want Argentina striker Correa but face competition from Aston Villa.
That’s according to a new report from Italian outlet Gazetta dello Sport.
The report claims Moyes and West Ham are big fans of the Argentinian international and are “expected to make a move in the summer”.
But Gazetta states that Aston Villa are also keeping a close eye on 28-year-old Correa with a view to a move.
West Ham and Villa fans might be wise to hold off on the enthusiasm, though.
Correa has been viewed as something of a flop since moving to Inter Milan from Lazio in 2021.
He has scored nine goals in 44 games for Inter having notched 22 in 92 games for Lazio before that.
Correa has never scored more than 10 goals in a season in his career and turns 29 in August.
Whether West Ham and Aston Villa supporters would be excited by the prospect of signing a player of that age with that kind of record is unlikely.
Both sets of supporters will be wanting and expecting Moyes and Emery to be looking at young, up-and-coming forwards with pace and power.