West Ham United have expressed interest in signing Cagliari centre-forward Roberto Piccoli this summer, according to Nicolo Schira.
The 24-year-old was instrumental to the Rossoblu’s survival last season, netting 12 goals and providing four assists in 40 appearances across all competitions.
Despite only being at the club on loan, having completed a summer move from Atalanta, the Italian has become an essential part of Davide Nicola’s setup, and his performances have prompted the club to make his move permanent.
While he’s not played an official match for his new club this season, the forward is already attracting interest from several clubs, including West Ham, who are looking to reinforce what was an underwhelming attack last season.
It appears the Hammers are looking to make a concrete move to land the Italian, as Schira claims that the East London club have expressed interest in the possible transfer of the Italy U21 international to the London Stadium this summer.
Piccoli just joined Cagliari on a permanent deal this month, but a departure now looks to be on the horizon, as the Italian journalist in another post notes that the Serie A club will demand a £21m fee to sanction his departure, with West Ham keen.
Prolific forward
The Hammers were one of the lowest scorers last season despite making reinforcements in their attacking positions last summer.
West Ham netted a meagre 46 goals in 38 games, the third-fewest of any team that escaped relegation last season, with only Everton (42) and Manchester United (44) scoring fewer.
Their goalscoring woes were not helped by the awful form of summer additions Niclas Füllkrug, Luis Guilherme, Crysencio Summerville, and Evan Ferguson, who accumulated just four goals across all competitions.
West Ham’s pursuit of Piccoli is hardly surprising. With the club actively searching for a new centre-forward this summer, the need for reinforcements is clear. While Füllkrug remains part of the squad at the London Stadium, Ferguson has completed a transfer to AS Roma from his parent club, Brighton & Hove Albion.
Several options have surfaced in the club’s search for attacking reinforcements, and recent updates indicate that Callum Wilson is reportedly nearing a free transfer to East London.
Nonetheless, a swoop for Piccoli would hand the club a prolific attacking prospect to spearhead the club’s attack without having to break the bank.
