Major breakthrough in talks: West Ham on-off £13.5m transfer close to finale - report

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Published on:

17 Jan 2017, 1:46 pm

By Harry Sykes

West Ham are edging closer to the signing of Scott Hogan following a major breakthrough in talks, according to a report.

The Mail claim on their transfer blog on Tuesday (12.04pm) that the Premier League club have nearly reached an agreement with Brentford for the purchase of the prolific striker.

It is said that the two clubs have agreed that the initial payment for Hogan will amount to £9million but are still negotiating the value of the add-ons.

The Mail report that West Ham have offered around £13.5million in total but the Championship club are holding out for their initial valuation of £15million to be met.

It has been widely reported in the last two weeks that the Hammers are working on a deal to sign Hogan as they attempt to revamp a forward line that has badly misfired this season.

Brentford appear to have accepted that Hogan has played his final game for the club after leaving him out of the team for their 2-1 league defeat to Newcastle last Saturday.

The current roster Hammers forwards have been especially goal-shy this season, despite Andy Carroll demonstrating the depth of his talent with a sensational bicycle kick goal in the team's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend.

The former Liverpool and Newcastle man is the club's third-top scorer this season, with a meagre three goals placing him behind Manuel Lanazini and leading man Michail Antonio.

Hogan, 24, has been in prolific form this season, scoring 14 goals from 25 Championship matches for Brentford, who are 15th in the table, a distant 12 points adrift of the play-off places.

Football Insider verdict:

Some West Ham fans might have mixed feelings about signing Hogan. He has a poor injury record and has never played a single Premier League match. Indeed, he has played remarkably few top-level matches - 33 in the Championship and 33 in the League Two - for a player of 24. But lower league gems appear to be all the rage after Jamie Vardy's rise through the leagues, and West Ham are banking on Hogan being another unpolished diamond who is a late developer. His goal record is impressive and his price is not overly steep, by modern striker standards. This deal is a relative gamble but one worth taking.

In other West Ham transfer news, the club have been installed odds-on favourites to sign a Premier League midfield goal machine this month.

West Ham United

Scott Hogan