Report claims West Ham will have to pay £18 million if they want to sign

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Sky Sports are claiming that Bournemouth want £18 million for alleged West Ham target Josh King.

In other news…Report: West Ham failed to sign 24-year-old after deadline day bid fell £7m short

The Hammers opened talks to sign the Cherries striker yesterday, according to a report from the Telegraph.

David Moyes will be keen to bring another forward to the London Stadium having sold Albian Ajeti and Jordan Hugill and loaned out Xande Silva.

And Bournemouth ace King would be a very useful option for West Ham.

Stats

The 28-year-old racked up six goals and four assists in 26 Premier League games last season (Who Scored).

In those outings, the Norway international averaged one shot, 1.2 key passes and two dribbles per game. He also won an average of 2.3 aerial duals per game (Who Scored).

King is an incredibly hard worker, has plenty of energy and stamina, and he would be the ideal man to provide competition for West Ham’s current forwards. He can play anywhere along the front-line, so would be perfectly suited to our new found system.

Eddie Howe raved about the striker last year, describing him as a massive player with pace, strength and technical qualities (Bournemouth Echo).

There is a potential problem though. Bournemouth are allegedly demanding £18 million for the 28-year-old’s signature (Sky Sports).

Now, that does seem like a lot of money for someone who has just nine months remaining on his current contract. But at the same time, West Ham desperately need someone like King.

So perhaps some common ground can be found. Something like £10-12 million seems like a fair price. And let’s hope we can get this one over the line.