West Ham United have lost the race for Spanish attacker Gerard Deulofeu due his infatuation with new club Napoli.
West Ham have been heavily linked with a move to bring the Spanish winger back to the Premier League by the likes of Messagero Veneto and Calciomercato.
Just over a month ago it was reported David Moyes was very keen to sign Deulofeu and that West Ham could land the Udinese man for as little as €15 million (£12.4 million) this summer.
The 28-year-old scored an incredible 13 goals and laid on five assists from an attacking midfield position in 31 Serie A games last season.
With doubts over the future of both Said Benrahma and Nikola Vlasic, West Ham desperately need more craft and guile.
So the move for former Everton and Barcelona playmaker Deulofeu made perfect sense for West Ham, particularly given the bargain fee being quoted.
West Ham lose race for Spanish attacker Gerard Deulofeu due his infatuation with new club Napoli
But West Ham look set to lose the race for Spanish attacker Deulofeu due his infatuation with new club Napoli.
According to Football Italia, the alleged Moyes target has reached a draft agreement with Napoli regarding a multi-year contract ahead of a possible move from Udinese.
And it appears West Ham have missed out due to Deulofeu’s ‘infatuation’ with the idea of playing for Napoli (Calciomercato).
“Contracted to the Friulian club (Udinese) until 2024, he seems destined for the jump to a big club once again,” Football Italia reports.
“As reported by Calciomercato, Deulofeu is infatuated with the idea of playing for Napoli and he considers their offer to be the absolute priority. He has reached a draft agreement on the basis of a multi-year deal worth €2 million (£1.75m) net per season plus results-based add-ons.
“Napoli are now looking to close out a deal with Udinese; their first offer of €13m (£11m) failed to convince, so they’re preparing to raise things to around €15-16m (£13-14m), which could be enough to secure a transfer.”
Napoli are a proud, historic and romantic club so Deulofeu’s infatuation is understandable.
If Moyes really was interested in Deulofeu then it looks like a case of another one bites the dust.
But if West Ham can get a deal sorted for free agent Jesse Lingard then it won’t matter one jot.