West Ham tipped to battle Serie A side for £32m lethal goal-scoring striker

West Ham have reportedly looked into the Villarreal striker Alexander Sorloth and while they are said to have made an enquiry, they are said to have not yet taken matters any further.

The Irons are preparing for a busy summer transfer window after welcoming head coach Julen Lopetegui to the London Stadium. While one of the main concerns this summer will be to bolster the Hammers’ defensive set-up, Lopetegui will also be hopeful of acquiring a new striker to relieve the goal-scoring pressure currently placed upon England international Jarrod Bowen.

According to reports from AS, the Irons will be facing competition for Sorloth’s signature from Serie A’s Roma who are also said to have asked about the striker’s situation and the potential for a transfer this summer. The news outlet, however, maintains that the Norwegian 28-year-old’s situation has not changed.

While both Roma and the Irons are said to have ‘made moves’ in requesting information, Villarreal have said that only an offer of €38 million (£32m) - the value of the striker’s release clause - will be considered.

Since learning of the £32m figure, neither Roma or West Ham are said to have made any further movements and the reports indicate that such a cost has put both the Serie A and Premier League side off the Norwegian goalscorer. It remains unclear whether either side would be willing to cough up the required £32m but the fact that neither club has gone any further than these initial enquiries would suggest they are not.

If a move to West Ham did materialise, it would not be the first time Sorloth has featured in the Premier League after signing for Crystal Palace in 2018. The striker made only 16 league appearances, however, and spent 2019 on loan at the Belgian football club Gent. He was then sent on a season-long loan to Trabzonspor for the 2019/20 season before signing with RB Leipzig in September 2020.

Sorloth was with the Bundesliga side for just one campaign and headed to Real Sociedad on a two-season loan in 2021. He then signed with their Spanish top tier rivals Villarreal in July 2023 for a reported fee of €10m (£8.5m), in a move that saw his relatively high release clause set.

Last season saw the former Eagles man make 34 La Liga appearances, scoring 23 goals and he ended the season as the league’s second top-scorer with Girona’s Artem Dovbyk surpassing him by just one goal.