West Ham have opened talks with Olympiacos over a possible deal for attacking midfielder Kostas Fortounis, according to The Sun.
It is thought the 26-year-old is being lined up as a potential alternative for top-target Andre Gomes, as fears are growing in Stratford that FC Barcelona will price the Hammers out of the market.
The La Liga champions are expected to demand a fee in the region of £25m to £35million, having rejected our initial £18million offer.
Fortounis will almost certainly be cheaper than that, going by The Sun’s report, as they understand the Super League side will likely accept a deal close to £16million – albeit previous reports in Greece suggested we would offer closer to the £8.8million mark.
Olympiacos’ expected asking price for their captain also comes despite the 42-cap Greece international only having one year remaining on his contract at the Karaiskakis Stadium, where he has plied his trade for the past five years, having joined Thrylos from FC Kaiserslautern for £360,000 in 2014, as per TransferMarkt.
Sporting Director Mario Husillos, though, is thought to be a big admirer of Fortounis, and has recommended him highly to Manuel Pellegrini while the boss searches for players that will compliment Declan Rice and Mark Noble in central midfield.
Husillos briefly worked with the Trikala-born midfielder in 2017 during his time with Olympiacos, but soon parted companies with the club to join Malaga, where he would spend seven months before switching allegiances to us.
Villarreal’s Pablo Fornals is said to be another option being considered beyond Gomes and Fortounis, but The Sun feel the Greece international would be the easiest to sign.
In the recently concluded season, the 6ft ace scored 17 goals in all competitions, and assisted a further 16, including a solitary effort as part of a 3-1 win over AC Milan in the Europa League Group Stage in December.
