West Ham in Transfer Battle with Inter Milan for Striker Dubbed ‘Next Carlos Tevez’

West Ham United is reportedly challenging Inter Milan for the signature of a player described as the new Carlos Tevez.

West Ham’s Recent Success

After a difficult period of four Premier League games without a victory, West Ham is regaining momentum under manager Graham Potter.

Following a 1-0 win against Arsenal, which significantly hurt Arsenal’s title aspirations, the Hammers continued their positive form with a 2-0 victory over Leicester City at home. These wins have distanced West Ham from the relegation zone and worsened Leicester’s struggles.

A goal from Tomas Soucek on his 30th birthday and an own goal by Jannik Vestergaard secured the win for Potter’s team, moving them up to 15th place, above Everton.

This victory was only Potter’s third league win since he took over in early January. However, with consecutive wins for the first time, the former Chelsea manager is optimistic about his team’s future progress.

‘It’s been a really good week for us—two clean sheets, two wins, six points,’ Potter mentioned on the club’s website after the Leicester game.

‘As I said before, the players have responded really well, they’ve been working really well and really hard. You want them to get some points because it just shows you’re on the right path,’ he added. ‘We need to keep moving forward.’

West Ham’s Interest in Santiago Castro

To further improve West Ham under Potter, squad strengthening is essential, especially in attack. Michail Antonio and record signing Niclas Fullkrug are currently injured without a known return date, while Danny Ings has only scored five goals in 68 appearances since joining from Aston Villa in January 2023.

According to reports, Bologna forward Santiago Castro is the player Potter wants to boost his attacking options. West Ham scouts have recently watched Castro, but they will face strong competition from Inter Milan, who are also interested in the Argentinian player.

While Bologna would prefer to keep Castro, it is believed that an offer between £21 million and £25 million might persuade them to sell the striker.

Castro, 20, has scored seven goals and provided four assists in 27 Serie A matches for Bologna this season, contributing to their push for European qualification. Bologna is currently sixth in the league, just three points from the top four.

Reportedly, Castro’s idol is his fellow Argentinian and Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez. However, comparisons are being drawn to another Argentinian and former West Ham player, Carlos Tevez.

Italian football analyst Ben Mattinson described the young forward as ‘Santiago Castro looking even more like a Tevez 2.0’ and as an ‘Argentine prospect with a complete forward profile’.