West Ham struggling in negotiations for their top two transfer targets | OneFootball

West Ham have two major priorities on the summer 2025 transfer market. They will need to sign a new striker who can be the regular starter at the position for the next five years and lead the line for Graham Potter's new sporting project. Perhaps more importantly, they need a complete overhaul of the midfield, including a deep-lying playmaker who can orchestrate play and a more effective box-to-box player than the options they have currently in 2025.

It looks like the Hammers' transfer search has focused on a specific team, Lille. The 2024/25 Champions League side boast some intriguing young talents, with impending free agent striker Jonathan David sitting atop the West Ham list of dream No. 9's and then young English midfielder Angel Gomes also appearing on the list of top midfield targets.

However, according to a report from The Guardian's Jacob Steinberg, West Ham are having issues in transfer negotiations for both players. Graham Potter is a big fan of Gomes, but the 24-year-old free-agent-to-be wants more than the 100,000 pounds per week that the Hammers are offering right now.

That's a huge amount of money for an unproven player who isn't a U23 prospect, but with Barcelona and other notable clubs in the Premier League linked, Gomes and his camp are likely confident they can reach those hefty wage demands. For West Ham, that looks like a price too rich, and Steinberg adds that there are further complications that make a deal appaer unlikely at this point in time.

Meanwhile, David is a more exciting get as a proven, 15-goal striker who is only 25 and a rare commodity in free agency. But Steinberg reports that West Ham have not made any progress in contract negotiations with the Canadian international. It appears recent reports of a big-money offer to the Ligue 1 star may have been wide of the mark.

West Ham were always going to find it difficult to sign two young, in-demand free agents from a club like Lille, which has a lot more status than the Hammers right now as they competed in the 2024/25 Champions League - and even beat Real Madrid in the league phase.

The Hammers are going to have to rebuild their squad under Potter with more underrated signings, rather than the sort of players who are high on the Barcelona transfer shortlist. They shouldn't give up on David and Gomes, but it's clear that West Ham supporters aren't going to have unrealistic expectations here.