West Ham United are set to make Belgian international, Michy Batshuayi, 22, their marquee signing of the summer. The Hammers have tabled a €35m bid with Marseille and expect negotiations to be concluded quickly.
Away with Marc Wilmots squad at Euro 2016, Batshuayi said that his future would be decided after the tournament finishes. Earmarked as one of Europe’s hottest young talents whilst at Standard Liege, he joined Marseille in 2014 for a fee of €6m.
With 23 goals in 50 first team appearances last season, the Belgian has been on the radar of many of the continent’s biggest clubs but West Ham are the first to make a genuine move for the player. Juventus, having recently lost Alvaro Morata to Real Madrid, are monitoring the situation whilst Premier League rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, are also ready to scupper West Ham’s plans.
Earlier in the summer, Batshuayi enthused about the Premier League, telling Sky Sports, “Everybody likes the Premier League. It has a lot of spectacle, a lot of goals and many good players. It is natural that every good player is attracted by that league.”
David Sullivan, West Ham’s co-owner, said recently that he expected the Hammers to challenge for the Premier League title with the move to the Olympic Stadium increasing the money available for Slaven Bilic to invest in the squad. True to his word, the Hammers have been linked with a number of high-profile players so far but Batshuayi looks like being the first to arrive.
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