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West Ham are hoping that Celta Vigo are relegated from La Liga as they look to sign Maxi Gomez this summer, per Claret and Hugh.

The striker is reportedly manager Manuel Pellegrini’s top target for the upcoming transfer window.

What’s the word?

Football FanCast reported in January, amid Marko Arnautovic’s transfer saga that saw him linked with a move to China, that Gomez had been targeted as a potential replacement.

Gomez has a release clause of €45million (£38.8m) embedded into his contract but Claret and Hugh claim that figure drops to €22m (£18.9m) if the club fall through the trapdoor and out of the Spanish top-flight.

They lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid at the weekend, but they remain one point clear of third-bottom Rayo Vallecano.

The report acknowledges that both Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked with Gomez, though they claim that West Ham believe those reports are merely the work of agents attempting to drive the star’s price up.

Gomez, a 22-year-old forward, has scored 11 La Liga goals in 29 outings, as well as providing five assists.

Sullivan & Gold go bargain-hunting again

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed West Ham for any length of time.

Co-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan love a bargain.

It has worked in the past of course – a move for Lukasz Fabianski after Swansea City were relegated has paid dividends – while Carlos Sanchez and Lucas Perez were both signed last summer for under £5m, though to much less effect.

Gold and Sullivan appear attracted to yet another cut-price transfer – whether or not he flops will be the measure of this particular strategy.