Meeting on Tuesday night as West Ham close in on striker deal - report

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Published on:

20 Dec 2016, 11:51 am

By Harry Sykes

Simone Zaza is closing in on a transfer to La Liga big hitters Valencia, according to a report.

Sky Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has revealed on his website that the West Ham striker is on the verge of a quick-fire move to Spain.

It is said that a meeting is scheduled to take place in London later on Tuesday between Zaza's agent and Valencia in order to thrash out an agreement.

The main stumbling block to a deal is the player's salary, with Zaza on a pre-tax salary of £2.7million a year and Valencia only willing to offer him £1.5million a year.

Zaza joined West Ham in the summer on a loan-to-buy deal from Serie A champions Juventus that was set to be converted into a permanent transfer if he played a set number of matches.

But the Italy international has made no impact at the London Stadium, with his 11 matches for the Hammers and 571 minutes of action failing to yield either a goal or an assist.

West Ham are reportedly keen to find Zaza a new club in order to reduce their financial commitment on a deal that quickly turned sour.

Football Insider verdict:

Given how badly he has flopped since his summer move, most members of the West Ham board would gladly drive Zaza to the airport personally to make sure he can complete a rapid-fire transfer to Spain. The same applies to most of the club's supporters. The Italian will go down in the annals as one of the biggest transfer flops in West Ham history. He arrived with a big reputation and is set to leave without a goal, assist or anything resembling a decent contribution. Pitiful is not even the half of it.

In other West Ham transfer news, Manchester United have suffered a blow as the Hammers beat them to signature of a £15million midfielder.

West Ham United

Simone Zaza