West Ham United have expressed interest in signing highly rated Mexican forward Armando Gonzalez from CD Guadalajara, according to Ekrem Konur.
Chivas are currently leading the Liga MX table as they look to claim their first league title since 2017 and their 13th overall.
Much of their form this season, in which they’ve netted the second-most goals in the Mexican division, is down to the prolific form of Gonzalez, who has attracted interest from Europe due to his goalscoring prowess with Chivas.
In the ongoing campaign, the 22-year-old has netted five goals in the opening six league games and 17 in all competitions with one assist and is on track to win the league’s top scorer award.
His overall tally for his club is now at an impressive 25 goal contributions despite only being fully integrated into the first team last season.
Now, according to Konur, West Ham have expressed interest in Gonzalez and are ‘keen’ on signing the Mexican centre-forward to reinforce their attack.
While an official formal offer has not been submitted, the Hammers have explored the potential transfer fee involved in the deal as well as the Mexican’s wage demands as they look to thrash out the deal, the report adds.
Prolific forward
With interest in Gonzalez growing, Guadalajara would ideally demand a fee well above Gonzalez’s £6m Transfermarkt valuation, especially with Konur adding that European giants Barcelona as well as Celtic have also expressed interest in the centre-forward.
Having initially signed Callum Wilson from Newcastle United last summer, West Ham added Pablo from Gil Vicente alongside Taty Castellanos, who joined from Lazio.
However, the trio have only accounted for six Premier League goals among them, with Wilson alone netting five of those, which led to his retention after he looked set to leave in January.
Pablo is yet to score any goals since joining, while Castellanos has just two goals, highlighting the need for a more reliable centre-forward to reinforce Nuno Espirito Santo’s attack next season.
With 11.54 expected goals as well as a sky-high 50 shots taken this season, Gonzalez would be a good fit to bring that athleticism and relentless goalscoring threat to the London Stadium.
Having already checked his potential fee and wages, it remains to be seen whether the Hammers will follow suit with a concrete offer amid interest from other clubs.
