Every summer, there’s talk that bottom half Premier League clubs have the ability to flex their financial muscle to attract players away from bigger clubs, but it rarely happens.
The prestige and exposure of a club tends to trump bigger wages, and that’s where West Ham fall behind in the race to sign Edin Džeko.
We’re not saying the Hammers are a small side, far from it, but when you’re competing with the likes of Inter and Juventus, you face an uphill battle.
In a report from Calciomercato looking at the Bosnian’s future, it’s explained West Ham are one of the clubs interested in signing the former Manchester City man, who has his ‘suitcases’ at the ready for the third time in recent years.
The forward, who is on very high wages at AS Roma, ‘is back on the transfer list’ as the club need to save some money.
The difference between now and the previous times, however, is the fact that Džeko’s opinion won’t matter as much.
That’s where Inter, Juventus and West Ham come in, with AS Roma hoping to get around €13-14m for their star forward.
Antonio Conte’s ‘weakness’ for the player is well known, and that will be the main competition for the Hammers, who will certainly need to avoid the drop if they want to be part of this fight.
And even then, with Inter and Juventus both likely to be playing Champions League football next year, it seems unlikely Džeko would choose a move to London Stadium over a stay in Italy, where he clearly feels at home.
