West Ham United have seemingly reached a stalemate with Juventus regarding Denis Zakaria this summer.
According to a report from Calciomercato, West Ham are refusing to pay more than €13 million (£11 million) for Denis Zakaria – well below what Juventus are demanding for him in the summer transfer window.
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The East London outfit have been chasing the 26-year-old’s signature all summer long it seems, and just last week it was claimed that he was closing in on a move to the London Stadium.
However, that is clearly not the case. Hammers boss David Moyes obviously needs to sign a new central midfielder this summer.
If Zakaria is the man who the Scot wants though, the West Ham owners will have to significantly raise their opening offer for the Switzerland international…
West Ham reach stalemate in race to sign ‘exceptional’ midfielder, David Sullivan only offering £11m
Calciomercato reckon that the Hammers are not willing to increase their opening offer of £11 million for the former Chelsea loanee.
Juventus are believed to be demanding closer to £17 million (Tuttosport). So something has got to give, and without a compromise, Zakaria will be staying in Turin.
I think that the Swiss midfielder would be a solid addition for us. Former BSC Young Boys coach Uli Forte labelled him as an incredible player with exceptional technical ability (Mondo Napoli).
However, he’s in no way good enough to replace Declan Rice on his own.
If Moyes brought him in alongside an elite defensive midfielder – someone like Sofyan Amrabat – then I think we’d be a in a very strong position.
West Ham shouldn’t spend any more than £15 million on Denis Zakaria as far as I’m concerned.
And as things stand, the Hammers won’t even be going that high. That’s fair enough, because finding value in the market will be crucial for us this summer.
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