A reported West Ham move for £28.5m rated Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton-Diaz has become seriously complicated as the clock ticks down on the transfer window.
David Moyes is desperate to bring a new striker to West Ham and now has just one week to do so.
And one of the targets he has been consistently linked with in the January transfer window is Blackburn star Brereton-Diaz (The Express).
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Moyes has publicly admitted he has been searching for a new striker for two years.
And but for a four-game spell over the new year, West Ham’s hugely promising season has been flagging since the November international break.
Michail Antonio has been carrying the goalscoring burden for West Ham for over a year. And there are signs that he is either tired or starting to be found out – perhaps both.
Moyes has stated he is not afraid to look to the Championship for signings with Jarrod Bowen a prime example.
So it is no surprise West Ham are being heavily linked with the division’s second top scorer Brereton-Diaz, who has 20 goals and an assist in 27 games so far this season.
The 22-year-old striker ticks nearly every box of Moyes’s West Ham recruitment policy. The Stoke-born star made headlines when he was called up to play for Chile – who he qualifies to represent through his mother.
West Ham move for £28.5m Blackburn striker Ben Brereton-Diaz has become seriously complicated
With just six days left in the window, though, any move for the forward has just become seriously complicated – if not impossible – for that very reason.
Because the Blackburn ace has jetted off to South America to join up with Chile ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Argentina on Friday and away in Bolivia the following Tuesday – FEBRUARY 1ST.
That means the supposed West Ham target will be thousands of miles away preparing for a huge match when the transfer window closes.
Given West Ham like to carry out extensive medicals before committing to signing players, especially for big money, it now surely seems any move for Brereton-Diaz is dead in the water.
West Ham could fly representatives over to carry out a medical in Chile – stranger things have happened after all.
But that seems highly unlikely and so attentions will surely turn elsewhere as Moyes searches for a striker and fans grow increasingly frustrated.
Some Hammers fans noticed Brereton-Diaz was not in the Blackburn squad for last night’s 1-0 win over Middlesbrough and got excited that a move may be brewing.
But it seems the very opposite is true.