West Ham have £24.3m+ offer pretty much accepted for 16-goal Serie A star – report
By Danny Wright
West Ham have had a big transfer offer “pretty much” accepted by Lazio for winger Keita Balde, according to a report.
Goal Italy claims that the Irons’ bid starts at £24.3million, but could rise as high as £28.7million in the future due to certain add-ons and bonuses.
It is understood that negotiations between West Ham and Rome-based Lazio have been going on for several weeks, and they have almost come to a complete agreement over a fee with the payment method still to be sorted out.
However the report adds that Serie A star Balde has not heard of anything from the Premier League club yet and neither has his agent Roberto Calenda – which leads to Goal Italy reporting that a deal is far from completed.
It is said that the Hammers have drafted a contract which would see Balde earn £51,000-a-week at the London Stadium, which is reported to be a stunning five or six times more than what he earns with Lazio.
The 12-times Senegal international was in fine form for Lazio last season, scoring 16 goals in 31 league appearances while playing mostly on the left wing.
He ended the Serie A season with eight goals in five appearances, which included a goal and a red card in the penultimate clash of the season against Inter Milan.
Football Insider Verdict
This deal seems very strange, especially if Lazio are willing to negotiate the sale of their key player without him even knowing about it. Balde might not even want to leave the Stadio Olimpico full stop, let alone for a West Ham team that won’t be competing in Europe next season. If he stays in Rome, he will be playing in the Europa League group stages next season, which makes it hard to believe that he would be willing to switch allegiances. However the money offered by West Ham is big. It may be hard to resist picking up a five or six times bigger paycheck every week. Money has certainly done the talking in this transfer window.
In other West Ham news, David Gold has said how the Irons may be able to secure a permanent deal for Joe Hart.
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