West Ham have been installed as the market leaders to sign free agent duo Gary Cahill and Danny Welbeck during the summer transfer window.
Cahill and Welbeck are both going to be released from Chelsea and Arsenal respectively when their contracts expire in June. Centre back Cahill was completely frozen out at Stamford Bridge by Maurizio Sarri while Welbeck suffered a season-ending injury ankle injury during Arsenal's Europa League tie with Sporting Lisbon last November.
Gunners boss Unai Emery confirmed that striker Welbeck would be on his way at the end of the season after Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brighton, saying: "I spoke to the club with this situation and the decision is he is going to leave."
Welbeck signed for Arsenal for £16m from Man Utd back in 2014 but he has struggled with injuries during his time in the capital and has been restricted to just 126 appearances for the Gunners.
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Cahill, 33, enjoyed a seven-year stay with the Blues after signing from Bolton for £7m. He had a glittering career with Chelsea, collecting every domestic and European winners medal, and taking over the captaincy from John Terry.
Now, both are being tipped by bookmakers SkyBet to join West Ham this summer on free transfers. The Hammers are joint-favourites with Everton at 3/1 to sign Welbeck, while Cahill is a 2/1 shot to move across the capital from west to east London.
Manuel Pellegrini is looking to sign at least one new striker and one new centre back this summer so the potential moves could make sense. However, certainly in the case of Cahill, the Hammers manager is looking to sign younger players than the 33-year-old but could be swayed by his vast Premier League experience.
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Pellegrini is keen on Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez and Fulham frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic this summer as he plans a revamp of his striking department with Andy Carroll leaving plus the futures of Javier Hernandez and Lucas Perez uncertain.
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