Over the course of January, it was clear that West Ham United were interested in signing some players, but they never really got round to it.
One of the names that kept coming up was that of Antonin Barak, currently at Hellas Verona, where he is thoroughly enjoying himself.
The fact that he is a Czech Republic international, which appears to be among the Hammers’ favourite type of player these days, also helped, as he could settle in quickly with Tomas Soucek, Alex Kral and Vladimir Coufal already at London Stadium.
Despite the numerous rumours involving West Ham, no bid was officially made, meaning they could be saving that for the summer, at which point they will have to pay at least €25m.
It’s explained that the ‘starting point is a request of €25m’, suggesting the price could go higher, especially because ‘there is competition from various Premier League clubs to beat’.
While West Ham aren’t named, it’s clear they would be one of them, with Newcastle and even Tottenham previously linked with Barak, who has 10 goals and four assists in 24 appearances this season.
