West Ham United are hopeful of signing Cagliari striker Giovanni Simeone on loan this summer, according to Calciomercato.

The lowdown

Football Insider have reported that recruiting cover and competition for Michail Antonio is a priority for David Moyes in the transfer market.

25-year-old frontman Simeone scored six goals for 16th-place Cagliari in 19 Serie A starts in 2020/21 (via WhoScored).

The Argentine underperformed relative to his expected goal tally of 7.21 (via Infogol).

Cagliari paid £11.7million to sign Simeone from Fiorentina just last summer, and he still has three years left on his contract (via Transfermarkt).

Simeone, the son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego, can count Real Madrid great Zinedine Zidane among his admirers.

Zidane said in 2018 he 'really likes him as a footballer' and that his performances had 'been very good'.

The latest

The report states that West Ham are ready to offer a €1million (£855k) loan fee to Cagliari.

An option to buy Simeone at the end of the season would be included in the agreement.

However, the proposal is not thought to be enough to 'convince' the Italian side at the moment.

The verdict

West Ham definitely need to bolster their striking ranks with a taxing European campaign ahead, but it's hard to say whether Simeone is the answer.

His goal tally is underwhelming and he wasn't especially clinical last season, but on the other hand he was playing for a struggling side who finished only four points above the relegation zone.

Clearly, West Ham see him as a diamond in the rough who can truly demonstrate his capabilities when surrounded by higher-quality team-mates, but time will tell if a low-cost move for the son of 'El Cholo' comes to fruition.

In other news, Frank McAvennie has warned that this star could pose a threat to dressing room harmony.