Slaven Bilic has confirmed West Ham’s interest in strikers Simone Zaza and Wilfried Bony with the Hammers eager to act in the closing days of the transfer window.
Injuries to Andre Ayew, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho have left Bilic with limited options up front after a summer in which West Ham struck out in their bids to secure the likes of Michy Batshuayi, Alexandre Lacazette and Mario Gomez.
Both Manchester City’s Bony – who is set to move to China in January – and Juventus’ Zaza could be short term options for West Ham and they are both under active consideration by Bilic.
He told reporters: “We have a couple of players we are trying to do a deal with. We have injuries and we are short of numbers… In terms of signings if something good comes up we are going to act.
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“We were linked with [Zaza] last year and he is a top player. We were in contact with him last year and will see what happens… [Bony] is also an option because he plays in the position we were looking for even before the injuries.
“I don't negotiate, I just say to the chairmen and Tony Henry, we talk and they do it.”
Should West Ham move for Bony they would hope that Manchester City would consider covering some of the former Swansea striker’s £128,000 a week wages.
Standard Sport understands that, with the two clubs set to meet in the league on Sunday, it is unlikely that Manchester City and West Ham would complete a deal before their fixtures, not least because Bony would be ineligible to play against his parent club if he joined Bilic on loan.
As for Zaza, his father has made clear that his client would consider a move to West Ham, describing the club as “a solution we’d appreciate”.
The Italian international has been told he will not figure heavily in head coach Massimiliano Allegri’s plans. Juventus have Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic ahead of Zaza in the pecking order, whilst Croatian youngster Marko Pjaca will also require game time.
