West Ham reacted as Saudi clubs aiming at signing £26 million player

The Saudi Pro League appears to pose a genuine danger to mid-level Premier League clubs, including West Ham United.

Since Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in 2023, a number of high-profile players have followed him to Saudi Arabia, including N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, and Roberto Firmino.

West Ham could be affected by Saudi wealth this summer, it appears.

Julen Lopetegui took over as Hammers manager last week and is already planning several transfer moves for attackers, including one for Luis Guilherme.

We reported earlier this week that Nottingham Forest attacker Taiwo Awoniyi is also on West Ham’s radar.

Youssef En-Nesyri is another forward on Lopetegui’s wishlist, and West Ham are believed to be pursuing him.

If Lopetegui wants to lead the Hammers to meaningful success this summer, he will need to sign a top-tier striker.

However, there’s some bad news for the East London outfit this morning, as clubs from Saudi begin to flex their financial muscles.

West Ham dealt big summer transfer blow

Hammers fans can already detect a significant difference between Lopetegui and David Moyes.

The Spaniard is working alongside Tim Steitden to complete transactions as fast as possible.

However, there are instances when you lose control of a situation.

One of the deals the Hammers are trying to wrap up as soon as possible is the signing of En-Nesyri from Sevilla.

According to Vamos Mi Sevilla, Sevilla has assessed En-Nesyri at £26 million, and Saudi clubs have joined the Hammers and Aston Villa in the hunt to recruit him.

The Morocco international is a striker who would be ideal for West Ham’s present formation, so losing him would be a huge setback.

En-Nesyri has scored 72 goals in 193 appearances for Sevilla (Transfermarkt), averaging more than one goal every three games.

He has an incredible 112 goals for club and country, which is a very good return given that he is only 26.

The 26-year-old is quite strong in the air, runs the channels tirelessly, and is an excellent finisher. Let’s hope West Ham’s management wins the race to sign him this summer, although Saudi interest isn’t ideal.