West Ham United have called time on their pursuit of striker Jermain Defoe due to Sunderland’s unwillingness to sell him, according to Sky Sports.

What's the latest?

Earlier this week, BBC Sport reported that the Hammers had a £6m offer for Defoe rejected by the Black Cats, but rather than get involved in a transfer tussle, it appears as though the deal is dead in the water.

As claimed by Sky Sports, the East London outfit asked Sunderland what their asking price is, and they came back insisting that their key striker is not for sale.

Sunderland cannot be blamed for digging their heels in where Defoe is concerned because the England international has scored 11 Premier League goals this season.

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The campaign may have been rather dismal for David Moyes and his team so far, given that they sit third from bottom in the top flight, one point adrift of safety.

So, losing Defoe at the midway stage of the season would be less than ideal, but if reports are to be believed, the club are going to do everything they can to keep hold of him.

While facing the media in Friday’s press conference, Moyes told reporters:

"West Ham have made an offer and we rejected it. We've said he's not for sale and we won't be selling him. There's a lot of talk, but it's not come from this football club. I don't want to fill a lot of time on your programme or fill any more column inches, other people are doing that for me.”

Who might West Ham turn to now?

Well, it is clear that the Hammers need some more firepower up front as they have netted just 23 goals in the top flight so far this season.

Michail Antonio is the club’s current top scorer on eight goals, while the likes of Simone Zaza, Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew have failed to make an impact either due to lack of form or injuries.

West Ham seem to be busy trying to get deals over the line, but none are close to coming off just yet.

It appears as though the club have cast their net far and wide as the Daily Star reports that West Ham have been linked to 30 attacking players, including Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool, in the past six months.

More recently, the Hammers have been reportedly eyeing a move for Celtic forward Moussa Dembele, but Sky Sports claim that a formal offer has not been lodged.

The news outlet has also reported that Celtic deem Dembele to be worth more than £20m, but it is unclear whether West Ham are willing to offer that much cash, particularly considering that they only tabled £6m for Defoe.

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