West Ham will give Middlesbrough the chance to permanently sign on-loan striker Jordan Hugill, according to a report by The Northern Echo.
But West Ham will demand that Boro stump up a sizeable fee of £10m – the same figure that West Ham paid Preston North End for Hugill in January 2018.
Jordan Hugill at West Ham
The Hammers paid an eight-figure fee for Hugill on deadline day in January 2018 as David Moyes made his one and only permanent West Ham signing.
But the 26-year-old struggled to make the step up from the Championship and Moyes was reluctant to play him.
Hugill made three substitute appearances in the second half of the 2018/19 season, racking up a total of less than half an hour of competitive football.
When Moyes left and Manuel Pellegrini came in, Hugill joined the team for pre-season but was then made available for loan.
He headed back down the Championship, where he joined Middlesbrough on a season-long loan deal.
Will Middlesbrough sign Jordan Hugill?
Hugill has failed to set the Championship alight this season, scoring a modest total of six goals in his 31 appearances for Middlesbrough.
Britt Assombalonga is the preferred striker option and ex-Hammer Ashley Fletcher is also getting more game time than Hugill now.
Personally, I cannot see Middlesbrough paying £10m for Hugill. He has simply not been good enough to warrant that sum of money.
Boro are fifth and if they go up, they will be looking at better strikers than Hugill. If they stay down, they are unlikely to be able to afford West Ham’s £10m demands.
The Hammers will have to hope another club is willing to match the £10m demand or they will have to lower their asking price.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
