West Ham have been hit by an attempt from relegation rivals Leeds to hijack their move for Valentin Castellanos – but the player himself has given a big clue about his next destination.
The Hammers are not just having to scrap with Leeds United for Premier League survival, now they’re doing battle in the transfer market to try and help secure it too.
Leeds effectively extended their lead over 18th-placed West Ham to eight points with a deserved draw against Liverpool.
It is going to take a minor miracle for Nuno Espirito Santo’s men to close that gap given they have won just three games all season so far.
West Ham fans sensed real trouble when they lost 2-1 at Leeds in Nuno’s fourth game at the Hammers helm.
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And those fears have proved well-founded with the Elland Road outfit going on a superb run of form and results to pull away from the danger zone, leaving the Irons in the fire.
With relegation to the Championship now looking a distinct possibility, West Ham have hit the panic button by splashing the cash to sign players within hours of the January transfer window officially opening on Friday.
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The Hammers are closing on four new signings to try and give Nuno a boost to keep them in the top flight.
But now West Ham have been hit by a Leeds hijack for one of them as Valentin Castellanos tells teammates where he is going.
The Hammers are on the verge of signing striker Pablo from Portuguese side Gil Vicente in a £20m deal.
Adama Traore is set to arrive from Fulham in a bargain move due to his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Former Leeds United centre-back Charlie Cresswell is another West Ham are looking to try and sign quickly too having just missed out on deadline day in the summer.
Leeds’ vastly superior goal difference is worth an extra point to them in the battle with West Ham to beat the drop.
That is because the Hammers find it nearly impossible to keep a clean sheet with 38 goals conceded this season so far, an average of exactly two per game.
So it should be no surprise that ex Leeds ace Cresswell, a player Nuno rates highly, is a top target.
West Ham hit by Leeds hijack as Castellanos reveals his next move
Especially after Hammers News exclusively revealed last month that West Ham were launching a new move for Cresswell in January.
However, it is a second striker move that West Ham are trying to get done as soon as possible that is making headlines in east London and Leeds today.
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It was suddenly claimed overnight that Lazio’s 27-year-old Argentine forward Castellanos – known as Taty – was set to sign for the Hammers in a £27m move.
Likened to Marko Arnautovic, Castellanos gets as many assists as he does goals and is known for his relentless pressing from the front.
A host of top Italian journalists have been reporting that West Ham’s deal for ‘Taty’ was advancing rapidly.
But a transfer specialist has claimed Leeds are showing strong interest in Castellanos, who has also been the subject of a bid from Flamengo.
After rejecting Flamengo’s proposal, the claim states Leeds and West Ham are ‘showing strong interest’.
Given the gap between the two sides and what is at stake, the last thing the Hammers need is for Leeds to beat them to a player who might be able to score the goals that help save them.
Now it seems the player himself has let slip where he is going after further updates from Italy on Friday afternoon.
Just when Hammers fans were fearing the worst, it seems West Ham have been successful in beating Leeds to Castellanos.
Castellanos says goodbye to teammates and heads for West Ham
According to Italian reporter Matteo Moretto, Castellanos has flown to London and is due to arrive imminently.
Sometimes Premier League clubs outside of London use the capital city as a base for transfer deals for speed and ease regarding travel arrangements and negotiations.
But there is no doubt Castellanos has chosen West Ham and not Leeds.
Because Gianluca Di Marzio has revealed the striker showed up at Lazio’s Formello training base to say goodbye to his teammates and empty his locker, before telling them he was leaving for West Ham.
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