Upton Park side look to seal second Anfield raid of the summer.
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West Ham United have held talks with Liverpool for the second time this transfer window, this time over the availability of Stewart Downing according to the Guardian.
The Merseyside club have told the Hammers they want £8million for their 28 year-old winger as they look to remove him from the club’s wage bill. It is unlikely that David Sullivan and co will be interested in a fee of that size, especially after just paying £15.5million for 24 year-old striker Andy Carroll. A fee in the region of £4million is a lot closer to what the Hammers valuate the winger at, who has two years remaining on his Anfield contract.
The former Aston Villa star has failed to impress for Liverpool since his £20million move back in 2011, managing just 7 goals, and 11 assists, in his 91 appearances. But with the likes of Carlton Cole and Robert Hall leaving the London based club this summer, Allardyce is fairly limited when it comes to attacking options – with only one striker with more than 20 Premier League appearances (Andy Carroll).
In other news, West Ham are trying to fight off interest from Newcastle for their English centre back James Tomkins. The 24 year-old was being tracked by Joe Kinnear and his team but when the Hammers responded to their enquiry with an asking price of £6million, the Magpies appeared to have refused to follow up their interest. Although negotiations are ongoing, it is unlikely that David Sullivan will allow James Tomkins to leave the Boleyn Ground for anything less than £6million this summer – especially with no replacement lined up.