West Ham could be leading the race for Santiago Giminez, according to reports.

Following the departure of Gianluca Scamacca, West Ham have been left with little-to-no competition for Michail Antonio. The Jamaican striker has only managed to score two goals this season and this has left the club assessing other options in the coming windows.

One man we looked at in the Summer was Santiago Giminez of Feyenoord. The Mexican has an impressive goal scoring record of 15 goals in just 11 appearances this season and was key to the Dutch side winning the league last season.

The Hammers are said to be contemplating a move for the striker once again and could make a bid as soon as January. However, the club will face stiff competition if they are to pull off the signing with European giants like Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus, to name a few, all being interested in the striker. On top of this London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal also have shown interest.

In contrast to most of the interested clubs, West Ham will struggle to compete on almost every front, but we have seen before how well Tim Steidten can work his magic to secure highly sought after players. Signings like Kudus show we can still pick up some of the biggest talents in football and that will give the club confidence that they can complete such a huge signing.

On top of this, the Daily Mirror have reported that West Ham are currently ahead of the other London clubs in the race due to the previous discussions between the two clubs. This pre-established relationship could be key if we are to somehow pull it off.

Of course, it is going to be an extremely difficult task, but there is certainly hope. Feyenoord’s price tag is said to be around £40 million which is definitely a fee Sullivan may be willing to cough up. Giminez is far from our only option, with players like Guirassy still being considered. Whatever happens in the coming windows, our own ExWHUEmployee will be providing the most accurate information exclusively on The West Ham Way to keep us all in the loop.

By Charlie Bass