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West Ham are among the suitors for Napoli defender Nikola Maksimovic this summer when his contract expires.

That’s according to Plaza Deportiva, who say the Hammers are competition for Valencia for the Serbian’s signature.

They explain that the 29-year-old is ‘highly sought-after’ this summer as he will be available on a free transfer from next week.

He is considered as ‘one of the biggest opportunities’ on the market, and there are no shortage of suitors looking to sign him.

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Valencia are one of those that are keen because he is available on a free and fits the ‘parameters of the centre-back’ that they are looking for.

He fits them in sporting terms and is liked by the manager and his team, while the economic terms of his deal with Napoli fit into Valencia’s strategy too.

There are other suitors, though, with Real Betis, West Ham and Italian teams on the list of clubs showing interest.

West Ham, in particular, need a new centre-back this summer after letting Fabian Balbuena leave on a free, with him seemingly closing in on a move to Betis.

The big problem is that Maksimovic fancies a move to La Liga, and that is one the ‘assets’ that Valencia have to put them at the front of the queue.

Plaza state that the operation ‘should be closed’ between this week or next week, although it is not ‘advanced’ at this point.

He does already have ‘several concrete proposals’ on the table; whether one is from West Ham isn’t mentioned, so Valencia need to move quickly if they are to get him.