West Ham have been handed sudden hope of signing at least one of two top striker targets just when it looked like they had no chance.
Now it is over to West Ham majority owner David Sullivan to show some real ambition.
The mood among Hammers fans is starting to turn with no new arrivals five days from the January transfer window closing.
It’s easy to see why given the club knew they needed to sign a new striker and midfielder long before the window opened.
Let alone after injuries to Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug, Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville.
Graham Potter has breathed new life and hope into West Ham.
But he needs help having been left with a threadbare and poorly composed squad.
Athletic journalist David Ornstein recently claimed West Ham made a new £57m bid for Jhon Duran.
West Ham showed their £57m hand with Duran
That had followed a £40m bid two weeks prior which had gone under the radar.
Both were rejected out of hand by Aston Villa and West Ham’s owners insisted it was time to ‘accept defeat and move on’ from Duran.
There have been underwhelming links to the likes of Andre Silva and Brian Brobbey since.
In the last week the Hammers have settled on Irish striker Evan Ferguson – who Potter signed and gave a Premier League debut to at Brighton.
West Ham revealed the big issue with signing Ferguson in a brief statement yesterday.
Namely that the Hammers are competing with no less than 20 clubs for Ferguson’s signature.
One of those clubs, it emerged overnight, is Bayer Leverkusen.
In fact the Germans, who knocked the Hammers out of last season’s Europa League, are reportedly leading the race.
Boniface sale funding rival bid for Hammers target Ferguson
The reason why became crystal clear too.
But West Ham must pounce after an astonishing £120m twist in the striker situation overnight.
That much-publicised bid for Duran has put Sullivan in an awkward position now.
Because West Ham either clearly have the money to spend on the right player and deal.
Or the likes of Simon Jordan are right and the Hammers have made phantom bids in a show of faux ambition.
Yesterday Hammers News implored West Ham to act after it emerged Bayer Leverkusen were selling Victor Boniface to Saudi side Al Nassr for around £43m.
That’s £17m less than West Ham were supposedly willing to pay for Duran.
Boniface is a longstanding striker of interest to the Hammers and has all the attributes the club needs. As he demonstrated when starring against West Ham in the Europa League and pre-season last term.
The Boniface sale is clearly then funding Bayer Leverkusen’s move for Ferguson.
West Ham must pounce after astonishing £120m striker twist
But there has been a major twist.
Because while agreeing a £43m deal with £7m of add-ons to sign Boniface, Al Nassr have also been negotiating a £65m deal with £5m of add-ons with Aston Villa and Duran.
Word this morning is that agreements have been reached with both clubs and both strikers by Al Nassr.
Now Al Nassr are set to announce today whether they will be signing Duran or Boniface.
And reports from the likes of The Express suggest Duran is the man they will go with.
That means two things for West Ham.
Boniface will suddenly then be available again and Leverkusen have already made it clear they’re willing to sell the 24-year-old for £43m.
But it also means that if Leverkusen decide not to sell the Nigerian striker, then they won’t be moving for Ferguson – clearing the path for West Ham to go and get that deal done.
Essentially, if Al Nassr do opt for Duran then it leaves West Ham with no excuses not to go all out to land either Boniface or Ferguson.
The Hammers simply cannot afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.
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