West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has strengthened the defence, midfield and attack this summer.

However, following news that Andy Carroll will be sidelined for three months, attention has turned to the potential capture of a new striker.

A handful of names have been linked to the Premier League outfit, but with the transfer window due to close on Thursday, nothing has been finalised by the club.

A report from Spanish media outlet El Desmarque, the Hammers have met the £45m release clause in Maxi Gomez's contract at Celta Vigo.

The report claims that the East London club failed with an initial offer of £26.8m, but to get their man, they upped the bid.

Plenty of West Ham fans find it hard to believe that the club have parted with that level of cash for Gomez, who has scored 18 goals in 36 La Liga appearances.

Others are hopeful that the reports in Spain are true.

[brid autoplay="true" video="255853" player="12034" title="Watch West Ham's opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season"]