Mario Husillos will likely have a busy summer scouting Europe and travelling the major leagues searching for Manuel Pellegrini’s next leading man.
One name regularly linked to the Hammers is AS Roma’s veteran centre-forward Edin Dzeko, who we have reportedly agreed personal terms with, despite the Giallorossi’s intent to recoup €25million (£21.5m).
The Bosnia-Herzegovina striker does not appear to be the only Serie A forward in the club’s headlights now, either, as Calciomercato understands Christian Kouame has ‘enthralled’ our scouts with his qualities for Genoa.
Being linked with the 21-year-old, as well as Dzeko, suggests the club is looking at a complete overhaul of our strike force, given Andy Carroll has likely played his final game for us, Lucas Perez is expected to leave in the summer, and Javier Hernandez and Mario Arnautovic are not guaranteed to be in Stratford next term, either.
It is expected that we will now send scouts out to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on April 20, to watch Kouame more closely in the Lanterna Derby against Torino.
Kouame was a journeyman as a youth, as he represented Prato, Sassuolo, Inter Milan and Cittadella all before the age of 19. Genoa then bought the versatile forward – who can play across the front line – in 2018, and fans soon took the Ivory Coast U23 international into their hearts.
In terms of end product, the Abidjan-born striker is currently enjoying his most prolific top-flight campaign with four goals in 31 Serie A outings, and has seven assists in all competitions.
A move would not be cheap, despite his unappealing record in front of goal, though, with Calciomercato citing that Genoa will want at least €25m to break down the wall they have built for Kouame – the same as Roma want for Dzeko.
We could always try to negotiate a better deal for the 21-year-old come the summer, if we are interested in making a move, as that price already indicates a €5m (£4.3m) saving on the €30m (£25.9m) Calciomercato had reported Genoa would look for in the past, when they linked Everton to the Ivorian.
