Transfer story
According to the Mirror, West Ham United have had a £27 million bid for Maximiliano Gomez rejected by Celta Vigo. The Spanish outfit want to hold on to their prized asset unless his release clause of £35 million is met.
The Hammers are willing to let go of few of their unwanted players in order to fund the move for Gomez as well as another midfielder before the summer transfer window slams shut on 9th August. The Mirror stated that Sam Byram and Michail Antonio are among the players deemed surplus to the requirements by the newly appointed Manuel Pellegrini.
Why do West Ham need Maxi Gomez?
Gomez will be a valuable signing for the Hammers, given their weakness in the attacking department. Despite splurging huge sums of cash in the past couple of summer transfer windows, West Ham have often looked toothless with the likes of Javier Hernandez, Andy Carroll and Jordan Hugill failing to impress for one reason or another.
As we enter the final phase of the ongoing transfer window, Hernandez and Hugill remain Pellegrini’s only options in the goalscoring department with star striker Carroll being ruled out for the first three months due to an ankle injury. So, the Hammers need a quality attacker who can fill in the gap left by Carroll whilst surpassing the awful records of their forwards.
Player stats and attributes
The young forward was one of the rising stars of La Liga last season as he plundered 17 goals and five assists in just 36 matches. In fact, his impressive scoring record was only surpassed by Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, Iago Aspas and Cristian Stuani – two of whom are his compatriots.
He is advertised as a snapshooter, having averaged an impressive 2.3 shots per game ratio last season. He also averaged 2.5 aerial duels won per game ratio, depicting his strong aerial abilities.
His lethal goalscoring prowess, however, is by far his biggest asset, something that will definitely impress Pellegrini. Although Gomez is not versatile enough to play anywhere else other the centre-forward position, the 21-year-old is certainly a talented operator and given his age, he can turn out to be a smart investment as West Ham look to make an impression next season.
Stats courtesy: Whoscored