West Ham could move for striker Borja Iglesias “at any time”, which Spanish newspaper Sport reported on Sunday, via Sport Witness.
It is reported that Real Betis are willing to pay the 26-year-old’s €28 million release clause, but in instalments, with there being a dispute between the two clubs about the structure.
Having missed out on Maxi Gómez, West Ham have supposedly enquired about his price ahead of a possible move, with Espanyol reiterating the striker’s release clause will need to be paid for him to leave.
While they would likely need to pay the fee in full, Betis’ dispute with Espanyol has opened up the opportunity for the Hammers to swoop in and get the deal done.
It is understandable that there are teams interested in the Espanyol man off the back of last season. He managed an impressive 20 goals and three assists in 39 starts and two substitute appearances in all competitions.
At 187cm tall he has the physical stature to help hold the ball up and he won 1.8 aerial duels per game, while he can also play teammates through, having made 1.1 key passes per game last campaign. In the 4-1-4-1 formation largely deployed (18 times) by Manuel Pellegrini last season, that kind of physical stature could be perfect to lead the line and bring others into play.
Javier Hernandez is the Hammers’ main striker at the moment. While he is also prolific, having scored seven goals in 14 league starts and 11 substitute appearances, he can’t match Iglesias in his overall game, having played 0.2 key passes and won 0.5 aerial duels per game.
This would be a move that makes sense for West Ham, as Iglesias is a striker who can contribute in different stages of the attack, while also being able to get the ball in the back of the net – exactly the type of player the Hammers need, considering the number of strikers to have left this summer.
As someone to potentially lead the line, Iglesias would appear to have the raw tools to fit into their system.
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