West Ham United are preparing a bid for the Juventus and Italy striker Simone Zaza, believed to be in the region of €20m (£15m).
The Premier League club face stiff competition from Wolfsburg among others, with the German side having already submitted an offer of €25m up front. Juventus are holding out for €30m.
West Ham officials are due to hold talks on Wednesday with Juventus in an attempt to structure a deal. The player has a contract with the Turin club until 2020 but the manager, Massimiliano Allegri, is planning a shake-up of his forward line with Álvaro Morata rejoining Real Madrid after two years with Juventus.
Slaven Bilic, working as a pundit for ITV during Euro 2016, is keen to strengthen his squad, but could also face competition for the 24-year-old from Premier League rivals, including Leicester City.
Zaza, who came off the bench in Italy’s 1-0 win against Sweden and is likely to feature in their final Group E match against the Republic of Ireland, has distanced himself from the speculation, and said this week that he hopes to remain in Italy.
“I’ll assess my future after the Euros, but I hope to remain in Turin,” he said. “I feel happy on a personal level, but not 100% because I think I can give more. I’m enjoying these Euros, I’m concentrated, fired-up and I hope to do well.”
