West Ham are eyeing a move for Vitoria de Guimaraes attacker Jota Silva with a bargain deal available this summer.
The Portuguese international has a £17million release clause in his contract, but with just 12 months left on that deal at the end of the current campaign his club would be willing to reduce the asking price by as much as £7m to avoid losing him for nothing.
The Hammers have recently been scouting the 24-year-old, who is said to be “keen” on a move to the Premier League, after an impressive season where he has scored 15 times and assisted seven more in all competitions.
Brighton and Fulham are both said to be interested, with Wolves also having evaluated Silva, while Aston Villa currently appear not to be but could “jump to the front of the queue” if they want to as their owners also have a stake in Vitoria. Brighton and Fulham could rival West Ham for Jota Silva fits the profile of player which West Ham are clearly in need of after the failure to land any attacking reinforcements in the January transfer window.
Despite moves for Ibrahim Osman and the Saudi-based Jota collapsing in somewhat bizarre circumstances during the winter window the Irons saw fit to let both Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals depart, despite drama around their 11th-hour exits.
And with Maxwel Cornet a virtual non-factor at the London Stadium under David Moyes the Irons have been left short when star men such as Jarrod Bowen or Mohammed Kudus are unavailable. Cornet may get a renewed opportunity at West Ham if there is a change at manager, with recent developments certainly suggesting there will be, but Lucas Paqueta is still at risk of departing to Manchester City so there is likely to be a great need for attacking additions.
If Tim Steidten and his recruitment department believe that Silva can adapt to the Premier League then at around £10m he looks like a great-value option.
But if there are multiple other top flight sides sniffing around him West Ham are unlikely to be able to afford to hesitate once the campaign ends, so sorting out the managerial questions and getting plans in place with whoever is set to take charge of next season is a must.
