West Ham pause in pursuit of lethal striker in his prime after learning asking price

West Ham United have learned the price they will have to pay to spring a top striking talent from his La Liga club but the quote has set them back as it was way above what they expected.

The East London club have made enquiries regarding Villarreal striker Alexander Sorloth but according to reports coming out of Spain his asking price has put him well out of reach for Julen Lopetegui’s side. Sorloth reportedly has a €38million (£32m) contract termination clause and that is the fee which Villareal will have to receive to allow any clubs to move forward with talks with the forward.

The striker has also drawn interest from Roma but the latest updates make it clear that neither the Serie A side nor West Ham have made further contact after learning the fee for Sorloth.

It seems that both Roma and West Ham have been put off by the fee for the attacker, who plays as an archetypal centre-forward and enjoyed a great season in front of goal last term.

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Sorloth has settled in well at Villareal after a long period of being persistently loaned out by his parent club which started when he signed for Crystal Palace in January of 2018.

The Norwegian striker has twice crossed the 20 league goals in a season threshold, having banged in 23 in La Liga last term and finishing as the leading goalscorer in the Turkish Super League in the 2019/20 season when he scored 24 and also finished as the most prolific player in front of goal in the cup for Trabzonspor.

At his best, Sorloth is a goal-machine but his patchy returns across his entire career would certainly give clubs a reason to baulk at his asking price.

Given what he has achieved for Villareal both in terms of his return in goals and his presence on the park for the Yellow Submarine, it is understandable that they are less interested in cashing in on him and would rather he stay at the club and help them climb the table in La Liga.

Another failed move might prove catastrophic for Sorloth’s career and barring a really attractive offer it seems that neither club nor player are eager to see the move happen.

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