West Ham table ‘only concrete’ bid for striker after club promise to let him leave
West Ham have made the ‘only’ concrete bid for an in-form striker, and his club have promised to let him leave on the condition they get a suitable fee.
West Ham fail to beat Brighton in thrilling 2-2 draw
West Ham’s alarming winless run reached eight matches following a dramatic 2-2 draw with Brighton that featured three first-half penalties at the London Stadium.
The result leaves the Hammers four points adrift of safety, still in eighteenth, while Brighton extended their own barren run to six games without victory.
West Ham struck first when Lucas Paqueta’s clever pass released Jarrod Bowen to round Bart Verbruggen and finish calmly in the tenth minute, with Brighton equalising through Danny Welbeck’s penalty after Max Kilman tripped Yankuba Minteh.
Welbeck actually missed a second spot kick moments later when his audacious Panenka struck the crossbar following Lucas Paqueta’s foul on Lewis Dunk.
West Ham then regained their advantage deep into first-half stoppage time when Paqueta converted from 12 yards after Dunk handled Callum Wilson’s goalbound effort.
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Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler introduced Kaoru Mitoma and Brajan Gruda at half-time and the changes proved decisive when Joel Veltman capitalised on Alphonse Areola’s poor punch from a corner to tap home the equaliser sixteen minutes after the restart.
Brighton appealed for another penalty when Mitoma went down under Bowen’s challenge, but VAR declined to intervene.
Both sides created late opportunities without finding a winner, condemning each team to end 2025 mired in poor form and desperately seeking improvement in the new year.
It was yet another stark reminder that West Ham’s options simply aren’t good enough, and how January could be crucial in determining their Premier League survival.
Nuno Espírito Santo hooked Callum Wilson midway through the second period with no decent alternative on the bench, with West Ham trying to remedy that behind-the-scenes.
According to reports this week, West Ham could turn to Viktoria Plzen striker Rafiu Durosinmi.
West Ham make 'only' concrete bid for Rafiu Durosinmi
According to journalist Pete O’Rourke this week, West Ham submitted a £12 million bid for Durosinmi, but reports from the Czech Republic actually state the real fee is much lower.
iSport and journalist Jonas Bartos state that interest from the Hammers represents the ‘only concrete offer’ received thus far when it comes to the Nigeria international, despite murmurs of interest from other clubs.
While O’Rourke claimed West Ham tabled £12m for Durosinmi, Czech sources indicate the actual figure offered stands significantly lower at around £4.3 million.
Plzeň have deemed this sum unacceptable and remain unwilling to sell their influential striker below their asking price despite his desire to test himself in England’s top flight.
Despite reports to the contrary, ISport claim that the 22-year-old’s contract actually expires in 2027, rather than 2026 mentioned elsewhere, and this gives Plzen more leeway to demand extra cash.
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Plzeň also supported him through serious knee injuries and subsequent operations that derailed a nearly-completed transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023.
That being said, the club have promised Durosinmi they will greenlight his exit to an elite European league, provided any interested party meets their valuation.
The powerful striker has scored seven league goals in 18 appearances this season alongside four strikes in European competition, totalling around 22 this calendar year in all competitions.
Interest from Benfica, Lazio and multiple Premier League and Championship clubs continues to build around Durosinmi as the transfer window looms.
The forward particularly impressed gainst Lazio in March’s Europa League round of 16, scoring once and providing an assist across both legs of the tie.
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