A deal for West Ham United to sign Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski now looks incredibly unlikely this summer.
That’s because Italian publication Il Mattino claim that Napoli are now demanding a whopping €50 million (£43 million) for the 28-year-old midfielder.
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We can almost guarantee that the Hammers will not be paying that kind of money for someone who is 28.
Zielinski is a very good player indeed and would have been a hugely exciting addition to David Moyes’s squad at the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.
West Ham missed out on Jesse Lingard to Nottingham Forest earlier this week and as a result, Moyes will now have to look elsewhere for a top-class central midfielder.
It seems as though that man will not be Zielinski though…
West Ham quoted huge Piotr Zielinski fee
TuttoMercatoWeb claimed last night that Napoli wanted £38 million for the 72-capped Poland international.
As the Hammers beefed up their interest in signing Zielinski, however, the Serie A giants reacted by upping their demands for the midfielder to £43 million.
£38 million seemed excessive for a 28-year-old and it was highly doubtful that West Ham would even pay that kind of money.
So the fact that Napoli now want around £43 million for Zielinski makes it almost mission impossible for the Hammers.
That’s not a bad thing.
In spite of Zielinski’s quality, we wouldn’t want West Ham splashing out £43 million on a 28-year-old.
There are plenty more cost effective options out there – younger ones as well.
Ludovic Blas is our preferred option.
Whether David Moyes shares that viewpoint remains to be seen.
What is clear in my opinion though is that West Ham will not be signing Piotr Zielinski from Napoli this summer.
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