West Ham United are close to sealing a deal for Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic for a fee between €15-20m.
That’s according to Gazzetta Dello Sport and Corriere Fiorentino, who both cover the situation today.
Starting with Gazzetta, they say West Ham have made a bid of €15m plus bonuses for the centre back, a figure that is enough to convince Fiorentina to sell.
According to their information, that figure is enough for a ‘handshake’ to close the deal, with them having committed to letting him go for a fair price as his contract expires next summer, and he can negotiate a free transfer from January.
Several teams have been keen, but it is West Ham who have made their move, taking advantage of the contract situation and the player’s desire to move on.
Corriere back all of this up but say the deal will actually be worth around €20m, so €5m more than Gazzetta are stating.
They say that the player is ‘about to leave’ after four seasons in Florence, and the Hammers’ offer is ‘seemingly satisfying everyone’s needs’.
Milenkovic is keen on the move to the Premier League, and the €20m also satisfies Fiorentina given they could lose him on a free next year.
West Ham have made their move after struggling to get Kurt Zouma from Chelsea, and intermediaries are working to find the ‘economic balance’ including on his salary.
That suggests a move is not as close as is being claimed, but things are clearly underway and progressing quickly, with the Serbian seemingly on his way to London.
