West Ham, Newcastle aim high with hotshot striker also on PSG’s radar eyed
West Ham and Newcastle are both ‘bewitched’ by Ligue 1 marksman Amine Gouiri, and must beat out the likes of PSG and AC Milan to secure his signature, per a report.
The Hammers continue to look perilously light of options at centre-forward. Sebastien Haller has never been replaced and the striker’s heroics at Ajax have now called that sale into question.
Mercifully for David Moyes, however, Michail Antonio appears to have overcome his previous injury woes.
The 31-year-old had continually struggled with hamstring issues in the past. He has been a near-ever present in the league this season, though his output has dried up in recent months, with Jarrod Bowen doing the heavy lifting in the final third.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are expected to spend big in the summer. The approximately £90m they splashed out in January will be just a taste of what is to come on Tyneside in future windows.
Chris Wood arrived, but the New Zealander is yet to score for his new club. It stands to reason the ambitious Saudi owners will target a more high profile and potent marksman in the summer.
Now, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato, the two clubs have converged over their interest in Nice striker Amine Gouiri.
Champions League qualification could determine Amine Gouiri fate
The 22-year-old is making a name for himself in Ligue 1 this season having bagged 10 goals and seven assists thus far.
The outlet – which primarily details AC Milan’s interest – directly namechecks both West Ham and Newcastle as interested parties. In their words, the English pair are both ‘bewitched’ by the lively forward.
SportsMole add their take to the story, claiming the likelihood of Nice sanctioning an exit will increase greatly if they fail to qualify for the Champions League. Nice currently sit third in Ligue 1, but have the likes of Monaco, Lyon and Lille hunting them down.
French heavyweight PSG are also in the mix per the report. The Parisian club could be on the verge of losing superstar striker Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid as a free agent in the summer.
While it is a stretch to suggest Gouiri would be a direct replacement, he would at least add firepower to their attacking ranks and supplement a forward line that would still contain Lionel Messi and Neymar.
As such, a deal for either of the interested English clubs does not look straight forward to say the least.
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EXCLUSIVE: West Ham chasing Tottenham loanee
Meanwhile, Cameron Carter-Vickers has transfer interest from five Premier League clubs as Celtic face a battle to sign the Tottenham loanee permanently, TEAMtalk understands.
The 24-year-old centre-back is currently on his seventh loan spell away from Spurs following his initial breakthrough. While he made his Tottenham debut under Mauricio Pochettino in 2016, he only managed five games overall for the club.
However, Carter-Vickers’ current spell at Celtic has arguably seen his stock rise the most amid his starring role.
The eight-cap USA international has played 90 minutes in all but one Scottish Premiership game this term. As such, Celtic have fixed their gaze on a permanent swoop.
TEAMtalk has also learned that the Glasgow giants will face summer competition from five Premier League clubs. Leicester, West Ham, Wolves, Burnley and Watford are monitoring Carter-Vickers’ progress.
READ MORE: West Ham in the hunt for £16.5m star, but face heavy competition across Europe
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