West Ham striker signing explodes into life as dream €35m Moyes target signals transfer wish
Youssef En-Nesyri is being linked with a fresh move to West Ham
West Ham have been presented with a golden opportunity to finally get their hands on long-term striker target Youssef En-Nesyri after the Moroccan star made clear his wish to leave Sevilla after a major falling out at the LaLiga club.
The Hammers have been pursuing the striker for quite some time, first trying to bring the 80-goal frontman to the London Stadium all the way back to the January 2021 transfer window. Indeed, it seems not a transfer window has gone by since without West Ham being heavily linked with the 64-times capped World Cup semi-finalist.
However, never has Moyes got closer to landing En-Nesyri than back in summer 2022 when a €40m (£34m) was seemingly accepted by Sevilla, only for the LaLiga club to change their mind on his sale and hang on to the 26-year-old’s services.
It later emerged that Sevilla regretted that decision not to sell En-Nesyri to West Ham; a feeling that was probably two-fold with Moyes and Co ultimately going on to spend an initial £30.5m fee to sign Italy striker Gianluca Scamaca from Sassuolo instead.
Scamaca’s stay at the London Stadium was to end abruptly, with the 24-year-old departing after just a season and having scored just eight times in 27 appearances for the Irons.
West Ham also lost money on the player, with Atalanta ultimately striking a £22.8m (€25m) fee to sign the 13-times capped international as a replacement for Manchester United-bound Rasmus Hojlund.
As for En-Nesyri, he’s since continued scoring goals at a decent rate; the striker netting 18 times in 48 appearances last season.
However, reports in Spain now claim a parting of ways is finally on the cards after four years in Andalusia.
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West Ham target En-Nesyri pushing to quit Sevilla
That’s according to ABC Sevilla, who claims that En-Nesyri has made it clear that he now wishes to leave the LaLiga side.
That stance comes after something of a falling out with Diego Alonso, with the Sevilla coach seemingly preferring summer signing Mariano Diaz ahead of him this season.
Indeed, Diaz is yet to register a goal in five appearances for the Rojiblancos since a summer switch from Real Madrid. And while En-Nesyri has seven in 15 goals, by contrast, it’s stated that the Moroccan feels like he is being pushed out the picture by Alonso and ‘does not understand’ the manager’s selections.
Furthermore, Diaz is also upset at the summer departure of his compatriot and close friend Yassine Bounou, with the Morocco keeper being allowed to leave and sign for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
As a result, the newspaper, citing multiple sources, claims that En-Nesyri has now ‘asked to leave’ Sevilla, with the club seemingly willing to sanction a January exit if their valuation is met.
And while they don’t state quite what they would be seeking, it’s believed an offer in the region of €35m (£30m) for a striker whose deal is due to expire in summer 2025 could be enough to tempt them into business.
Striker signing ticks all the boxes for David Moyes
West Ham, for their part, are described as having never lost sight of the striker and are ready to make a fresh move to bring him to the London Stadium, enthused by the latest developments around his future.
The Hammers continue to rely heavily on Michail Antonio to lead the line with Danny Ings in reserve. However, Ings has never been prolific under Moyes (he has three goals in 34 appearances), while Antonio is now 33 and there seems an acceptance that he can no longer play every game for West Ham.
Jamaica international Antonio – now in his ninth season with West Ham – has a solid 77 goals in 284 appearances for the club, though has just two goals in eight games so far this term.
