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West Ham had a €40million (£35m) bid rejected for Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata last month, per Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Hammers were keen to strengthen their strikeforce in January and identified a number of striking targets, with Di Marzio claiming Zapata was the subject of an offer.

What's the word?

The Hammers endured an intriguing January transfer window.

Marko Arnautovic was the subject of a major bid from China and the majority of the month was spent with the Hammers making preparations in case the Austria international forced a move.

A loan bid for Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi on transfer deadline day fell through - he eventually joined Crystal Palace - while a reported pursuit of Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez bore no fruit.

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Di Marzio claim that the Irons were also interested in a move for Zapata, who has scored 21 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions this season.

However, an offer worth €40m was snubbed by the Italian side, who are currently fifth in Serie A.

Zapata, who has won five caps for Colombia, is seen as integral to the side's push for potential Champions League qualification, per the report, and thus they decided to retain his services.

Arnie the key

West Ham needed Arnautovic to leave if any deals were going to be done.

The Austrian was valued at £40m by the Irons and they did not pluck that figure out of thin air.

Football FanCast understands that the number was built around securing a replacement, with the majority of the money set to be reinvested into the squad.

Instead, Arnautovic ended up sticking around and, as a result, there was little money for the club to invest.

This bid for Zapata, then, would have been speculative and the club should be relieved that it was rejected.