West Ham ‘ahead of the game’ in race for striker Tottenham, Arsenal admire after early talks

West Ham United have been confirmed as contenders for the signature of in-demand Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez by a report.

Gimenez looks primed for a big move away from the Eredivisie after his goals helped fire Feyenoord to the title last season. Rather than lose him after one year, though, his current club managed to extend his contract until 2027 back in August.

Nevertheless, they will be bracing themselves for interest in his services again in 2024 after he started the new season in similar form to the one in which he made a name for himself in European football.

Impressively, Gimenez has scored 15 goals from his first 11 appearances of the new campaign. He is already more than halfway to matching his tally from 2022-23, which was admirable enough in its own right with 23 goals in 45 games.

Gimenez has since been tipped for a transfer to Tottenham, who currently top the Premier League table but have got there without finding an immediate replacement for Harry Kane over the summer.

According to the Daily Mirror, though, West Ham are also in the queue for the Feyenoord frontman and could actually be classed as being ‘ahead of the game’ in the battle for his signature.

That’s because they opened talks with Feyenoord and Gimenez himself over the summer, when they were planning to react to the sale of Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta.

Their efforts to bring him in for this season turned out to be in vain, but they are still ‘chasing’ him, it is claimed – and Feyenoord are even concerned about approaches in the January transfer window.

West Ham rival 10 clubs for Gimenez

Other than West Ham, the report lists Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham as other clubs who could take him to the Premier League. The Italian quintet of AC Milan, Inter, Juventus, Napoli and Lazio are also mentioned, as are La Liga rivals Atletico and Real Madrid.

For any of them to prise him away from Feyenoord, a bid of £40m or more will be required. It remains to be seen who wants to pay that for the 22-year-old.

At West Ham, Gimenez has been recommended by technical director Tim Steidten. A new striker is something on their wish list after Scamacca’s sale, since their only remaining options are Michail Antonio and Danny Ings – both in their thirties and out of contract in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Whether West Ham can genuinely compete with some of the other potential bidders for Gimenez – many of whom have Champions League pedigree – will likely depend on where David Moyes can get them to finish in the Premier League this season.

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