West Ham may bring in former Barca striker before clock runs out

It’s remained a fairly quiet window for followers of West Ham so far, but reports suggest a new, or even an old striker, could be bound for the Boleyn Ground as Ricardo Vaz Te searches for an escape.

Vaz Te’s lack of game time at the start of this season has led to the Portuguese striker handing in a transfer request.

This has reportedly captured the attentions of several clubs including fellow Premier League outfits Swansea and Crystal Palace.

With Eagles boss Ian Holloway having already hinted deadline day will be busy at Selhurst Park, this appears Vaz Te’s most likely destination at present, increasing the probability on Palace bringing in the most players on September 2nd, at 6/5 with Ladbrokes.

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Despite Sam Allardyce having brought the player to two separate clubs, the current West Ham boss admitted he will not stand in the players way, should a reasonable bid arise.

This only adds more fuel to the fire that Allardyce will have to bring in another centre forward to bolster his squad, especially in light of Andy Carroll’s near-constant injury concerns.

Having already had a loan move for Genoa striker Alberto Gilardino turned down, Allardyce was hoping to bring in another Italian on loan, in the shape of Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella.

This trail has now run a little cold and, with Allardyce complaining of very little resources in which to spend, a shock move to bring back released forward Carlton Cole has even been mooted.

However, the latest is that the club have returned to Italy to contact Catania over the availability of Maxi Lopez, who is arguably most known for previously being on the books of Barcelona.

Alternatively, it is 10/1 that Demba Ba returns to the club, with Chelsea thought to prefer that the striker joins the Hammers ahead of Arsenal.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.