With Nicolo Zaniolo seemingly on his way out of AS Roma, it made sense for West Ham United to try their luck.
The Hammers are in need of reinforcements during the January transfer window after a particularly poor first half of the season, and despite the arrival of Danny Ings, there is the feeling more could follow.
It seems West Ham were hoping the Italy international would have been one of them, but their offer simply wasn’t what the Serie A side wanted.
This is according to Corriere dello Sport, who have an update on the situation on Friday and claim that what the London club put forward was simply ‘inadmissible’.
This is certainly an interesting decision from the Hammers, especially when taking into account the fact that Zaniolo’s current contract with Roma ends in 2024.
That being said, they did also include an ‘obligation to buy’ in the deal worth €30m + bonuses, which would be triggered on 31st December 2023.
The condition for that to happen, though, would be for West Ham to, between August and December of 2023, pick up ‘at least 30 points’ in the league.
If that didn’t happen, then Zaniolo would return to Roma, with six months left on his contract.
While complicated and potentially interesting, it’s said it was deemed ‘inadequate’ due to the fact that if they are to get rid of their star, the Italian side want the money now, and not in 12 months time.