West Ham turn to inform La Liga striker as Jhon Duran alternative

Recently, transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano reported that Aston Villa rejected West Ham's new offer for young striker Jhon Duran. The Hammers offered £32 million plus sell-on clause and academy talent Lewis Ordford, however, Villa remain firm on their £40 million valuation for Duran.

This has taken Jhon Duran and West Ham by surprise with optimism growing in the recent days when Jhon Duran's agent, Jonathan Herrera claiming he can't see a reason why the transfer to West Ham won't happen. But Villa rejecting Hammers bid has posed the question: should West Ham pay
£40 million for a 20-year-old talent who still needs to improve overall to be a top striker or move to other strikers in the market.

West Ham turn to inform La Liga striker as Jhon Duran alternative

If West Ham chose the latter, there is an inform striker in the La Liga currently. That is none other than Villarreal star Alexander Sorloth. And according to a report from El Periodico Mediterraneo, West Ham have made an official bid to sign the Norweigan forward.

The report didn't mention the offer but claimed that Villarreal rejected the Hammers bid. Still, the negotiations are in the earlier stages and for £25 million, the 28-year-old striker is a bargain. Standing at six foot tall, Sorloth was in prolific form last season as he scored 26 goals and six assists in 41 appeareances for Villarreal in 2023/24 season.

Sorloth has been an underrated quality striker for years now with the forward playing for RB Leipzig, Real Sociedad and Villarreal in the last four years scoring a combined total of 56 goals alongwith providing fourteen assists. And at the age of 28-years-old, Sorloth is entering into his prime and can score fifteen goals every season for the next 4-5 seasons of his career.

West Ham have struggled to bring in a quality striker in the last few seasons under former manager, David Moyes with the Hammers cutting their losses on Sebastien Haller and Gianluca Scamacca in the last five years. On paper, signing Sorloth represents a great value and in the first place, it remains to be seen what is West Ham's stance on Jhon Duran now that Villa have rejected their new bid.