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West Ham are reportedly lining up a move for Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic.

The Croatian striker has been watching by Hammers scouts during international duty and boss Slaven Bilic is eager to join up with him again after working together when he was the Croatia national team manager.

The 30-year-old could reportedly cost £18million in January, given he still has two-and-a-half years remaining on his Juve contract.

West Ham’s strikers have not scored a single goal for the club since Diafra Sakho scored in that 3-2 win over Manchester United – the final ever game at the Boleyn Ground – back in May.

The club’s very public search for a marquee striker in the summer eventually led to Simone Zaza arriving at the club on loan, but his arrival is yet to be anything other than a complete failure.

The likes of Zaza, Jonathan Calleri and Ashley Fletcher have all failed to find the net while Andre Ayew Ayew, Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll have each struggled with injury since the beginning of the season.

The summer transfer strategy was similar to the club tapping in to The Casino Database and gambling with a number of unattractive options.

So it’s no surprise that the club are now looking at strengthening the striker department in January. It is also no surprise that Bilic is looking at a player he knows very well and has worked with in the past.

Of course, we had that with the arrival of Gokhan Tore, who has been a complete disappointment since he signed from Besiktas, but Mandzukic is a lot older and far more suited the rigours of Premier League football.

If we can get a deal done for the striker then it’ll be a bonus but, at the same time, £18m for a 30-year-old doesn’t really represent fantastic value for money at first glance.