West Ham have been handed a boost in their pursuit of £15million-rated QPR striker Charlie Austin, according to the Express.
The 26-year-old has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs this summer, with West Ham, Newcastle, Chelsea and Tottenham all thought to be the most interested in his signature.
But with QPR demanding a fee of £15million and refusing to accept anything less for their star striker, the Express are now claiming Newcastle have ended their interest because they can’t justify paying such a hefty fee for a player who has just a year remaining on his current contract.
Long term injuries to Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll mean West Ham are in a frantic search for a striker before the window closes, and they are now believed to be the front runners to bring Austin back to the Premier League.
Yesterday it was claimed by the London Evening Standard that Austin wants to stay in London and won’t consider a move anywhere else (which kind of ruled Newcastle out anyway), and although Chelsea are still being reported as ‘interested,’ it is being widely expected that West Ham will win the race for this services.
However, the Express are reporting that Jose Mourinho is now reconsidering an offer for Austin – who scored 18 Premier League goals last season – after seeing his side struggle for form and goals in the opening two games of the Blues’ title defence.
The next couple of weeks are going to be very, very interesting indeed.
What do you think? Should we just pay the £15million? Or are we right to be taking our time? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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