West Ham line up £34m transfer bid for 'priority' first summer signing

Julen Lopetegui is to oversee a busy summer of transfer activity at the London Stadium in the upcoming window, as the club looks to rebuild following an unsatisfactory 2023/24 campaign.

The club that won the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023 ended last season in a disappointing ninth place with no European spot for the 2042/25 season confirmed. However, the former Wolves boss Lopetegui has now entered the picture, taking over from the departing David Moyes, and is ready to go about strengthening a squad in much need of restoration.

The 57-year-old had been eyeing up a reunion with Youssef En-Nesyri whom he coached at Sevilla, however the latest news indicates that Lopetegui’s interest has now shifted to Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion.

According to Mucho Deporte, while Lopetegui would be happy to be reunited with his former player in Stratford, West Ham are now giving priority to Omorodion, who has enjoyed an impressive loan spell at Alaves this season. The Irons head coach believes he will be able to get better performances out of him, and the report adds that Lopetegui feels the system he is planning on playing would be ideally suited to a tall number nine, such as Omorodion.

The Atletico Madrid star is also only 20 years-old, thus giving plenty of room for development and progress during his stay in the east of the capital.

However, Mucho Deporte have noted that while West Ham would be willing to pay €29 million (£24.6m) plus €10m in potential bonuses for Omorodion, this would not be enough for the Spanish side who are hoping to receive the full €40m (£34m) so they can target the Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk.

20-year-old ‘Samu’ began his career with Granada before moving to Atleti in 2023. He signed a five-year deal with the club but was immediately sent on loan to Alaves where he has scored eight goals in 34 La Liga appearances, ending the campaign as the club’s top scorer. The forward, who stands at 6”4’ tall, also has ten appearances in Spain’s international youth squads, and was recently part of the team that reached the 2023 European U19 Championships in which the Rojita lost to Italy in the final.