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West Ham United are interested in signing Venezia striker Joel Pohjanpalo, according to reports from Italy.

Outlet La Nuova Venezia (via Firenze Viola) today claims that the Hammers are ‘thinking of buying’ the 28-year-old this summer.

It was last summer that Venezia signed Pohjanpalo from Bayer Leverkusen, spending €2.5m to take him from the Bundesliga side.

In his first season in Italy, he had 19 goals and seven assists in 40 matches, and was the protagonist of the club’s campaign in Serie B.

The story doesn’t say how much West Ham would need to pay to sign him from Venezia, while Transfermarkt currently value him at €3.5m.

What must be pointed out is that Firenze Viola’s article claims the Hammers want Pohjanpalo to be replacement for Gianluca Scamacca, who’s set to leave the London side this summer.

However, if we consider that West Ham spent €36m to sign the Italian player last summer and now look to loan him out, it’s strange to think they’d substitute him with such a cheap option, who’s already 28.

So perhaps Pohjanpalo is more of a low-budget addition to the squad.