West Ham lead chase to land £25m striker Krzysztof Piatek who snubbed them last January, not Villa – report

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West Ham United are said to be ‘ready to fight’ Premier League rivals Aston Villa for AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek.

There have been mixed reports surrounding West Ham’s January transfer kitty.

Football Insider claims the Hammers will be active, targeting four players.

But the likes of Claret & Hugh, which claims to have a top level source at West Ham – believed to be co-owner David Sullivan – claim very little business will be done.

David Moyes has inherited a squad desperately lacking in key areas, including midfield and up front.

Villa linked with Piatek but report claims West Ham lead the way

Record £45million signing Sebastien Haller is the club’s only proven senior striker. And he has struggled as a lone striker with just six goals in 20 games so far.

West Ham have been heavily linked with midfielders Gedson Fernandes, Sander Berge and Joe Allen.

The Hammers have also been linked with forward Gabriel Barbosa.

But according to a new report from Italy the club has reignited its interest in Poland forward Piatek (Sport Mediaset).

It comes a year after Piatek snubbed West Ham for Milan after the Hammers had a £35million bid accepted by Genoa (as Hammers News reported at the time).

Italian sources claim Hammers have tabled £25million bid

Aston Villa have been linked with Piatek this week by respected Italian football journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

But Sport Mediaset says it is West Ham who are leading the charge with John Percy of the Telegraph insisting the 24-year-old is not a target for the Midlands club.

Perhaps the original sources confused the two claret and blues?

The report says Piatek is on the transfer market following the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Sport Mediaset says West Ham have tabled a bid in the region of £25million.

Exactly the kind of ambition Hammers should be showing

After a bright start at the San Siro, Piatek has struggled scoring only five times in the last six months.

But he still boasts a superb goal record of just under one every other game.

The report also claims that German side Bayer Leverkusen are interested but that the Pole prefers a move to England.

Piatek is exactly the kind of signing West Ham should be making if they are serious about eventually challenging for a European spot.

Whether they can pull off a deal remains to be seen.