West Ham Monitoring Free Agent Mario Gotze and Considering Pablo Fornals Offer
By Mitch Wilks
West Ham are keeping tabs on free agent and 2014 World Cup winner Mario Gotze, while also weighing up an offer received by Napoli for midfielder Pablo Fornals.
Gotze became a free agent upon the expiry of his Borussia Dortmund contract at the end of last season and has garnered interest from a number of clubs around Europe.
The Express report that the Hammers have subsequently made an enquiry about Gotze, but face competition from Roma and Monaco, who are also interested in signing the 28-year-old attacking midfielder.
West Ham are unable to bring in any new faces to the club until funds are raised through player sales though, meaning some familiar names could be set to leave the Hammers. Pablo Fornals is one of those names; the report states that Napoli have made a bid for the 24-year-old attacking midfielder, which the Hammers are considering.
Head coach David Moyes is keen to adjust West Ham's squad and tune it more to his vision after taking permanent charge of the club ahead of the 2019/20 season. Player sales are likely going to be his best way of doing this, meaning Fornals could well leave if the Hammers deem the bid a suitable one.
They've also received a bid for Manuel Lanzini from Fenerbahce, which is being considered. Lanzini has made 25 appearances in all competitions for West Ham last season, but only chipped in with three assists. Moyes could be tempted to sell the Argentine in order to facilitate a move for Gotze, and potentially Porto striker Moussa Marega.
Marega is also being considered by West Ham, as Moyes looks to rework his attacking options for next season. The 29-year-old is believed to be available for around £15m and managed 12 goals and seven assists from 29 league games last season, but is also wanted by Newcastle.
Gotze has struggled since scoring the winner in the 2014 World Cup final for Germany. He left Bayern Munich to return to Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and was diagnosed with myopathy a year later, but managed to make 21 appearances for Dortmund last season.
West Ham would likely have to meet some high wage demands and fend off the competition from elsewhere, but would benefit from having such a high calibre player in the squad should he stay fit.