West Ham United have submitted a formal opening offer to sign Viktoria Plzen centre-forward Rafiu Durosinmi, according to Football Insider.
West Ham are firmly focused on strengthening their attack when the January transfer window opens, with securing a new striker high on the agenda. Nuno Espírito Santo is battling to steer the club clear of relegation and will require a consistent source of goals if his side are to stand a realistic chance of survival.
So far, first-choice forwards Callum Wilson and Niclas Füllkrug have managed just four Premier League goals between them, all of which have come from Wilson, prompting the need to pursue a more reliable scorer, particularly with Füllkrug reportedly close to a move to AC Milan.
The most recent player linked with the Hammers is Viktoria Plzeň forward Durosinmi, who has caught the eye since returning from a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him sidelined for 15 months.
The 22-year-old made his comeback in February and has gone on to score 13 goals in all competitions this season, including two in the Europa League and a brace during Champions League qualifying.
Formal offer
Now, according to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, West Ham have submitted a formal offer to Plzen for the possible transfer of Durosinmi to the London Stadium.
Nuno needs a prolific forward to reinforce his attack, and having identified Durosinmi, the Hammers placed a £12m bid to sign the Nigerian forward, who is also of keen interest to Lazio and Eintracht Frankfurt, according to the report.
While Football Insider does not reveal Plzen’s stance on West Ham’s offer, a fresh report from Czech outlet iSport claims that the Hammers’ offer is believed to be £4m, which is deemed ‘unacceptable’ by the six-time Czech First League champions who are keen on retaining the 6ft 3in star at the Doosan Arena unless they receive a suitable offer.
It remains unclear whether the Hammers view the 22-year-old striker as their main centre-forward option for January, particularly due to his limited experience outside the top five leagues. However, West Ham have enjoyed recent success recruiting from the Czech league, highlighted by summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf, while past additions such as Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek have also proven effective.
