West Ham United will need to work hard to sign Salernitana forward Boulaye Dia this summer, with him more than happy where he is for the time being.
That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who cover the player today as he continues to impress on loan at the Serie A club.
Dia joined Salernitana on loan from Villarreal in the summer and has proven to be one of the coups of that window, bagging 15 goals and six assists in 30 league games so far.
His latest three goals came via a hattrick in the 3-3 draw with Fiorentina, with that treble taking him to five goals in his last three games and further bolstering his already growing reputation.
West Ham are one of the sides thought to be interested in him, with it recently reported that it would take €20m to sign him and the player wants a move to the Premier League.
Corriere say otherwise, though, insisting that it will now take between €30m and €35m to secure Dia’s signature and even then, it won’t just be a case of putting that money up.
Alongside battling off competition from the likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan, the latter of whom have already made ‘official steps’, they also have to convince the striker.
A move this summer is not an ‘obsession’ for the player by any means as he has ‘fallen in love’ with Salerno and has a relationship of esteem and affection with the club, director Morgan de Sanctis and manager Paulo Sousa.
Thus, there is nobody pushing for a transfer at the moment, although Salernitana do have a balance sheet to consider and that will factor into it.
They know that there is a sale there to be made, particularly as West Ham are one of the sides to have shown ‘signs of interest’. It remains to be seen if they can offer the money required or convince Dia to move.
