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West Ham: Valencia start Zaza talks; Bilic sets new target; competition for forward

Sam Leveridge
Sam Leveridge

Simone Zaza’s West Ham nightmare is increasingly near a premature exit from London according to , who say that Zaza has this week spoken with Valencia manager Cesare Prandelli over the phone regarding a potential move which would see him leave the London Stadium in January.

The Italian has flopped since joining in the summer, failing to score in 11 appearances with rumours claiming that he would be forced to sign a permanent deal with the Hammers should he make only a few more appearances for the club.

Slaven Bilic has reiterated his belief that the target for his side has to be “minimum top ten” which he is still confident of achieving as he told Gary Lineker for the BBC, :

“We are not happy with the position we are in at the moment. We are in a position we are not happy with and where we have to bite our nails. We are not directly talking about relegation but straight after your game you have to look at the results here and the results there. It’s not ideal. I feel the support of the fans, the team and the board. My next few games are my test.”

Currently just one place above the relegation zone, the pressure is building on Bilic despite receiving the backing of his board and various messages of support from players and fans alike.

However, he will not be helped in the hunt for a replacement for Simone Zaza with Stoke the latest club to enter the race for Napoli striker and West Ham target Manolo Gabbiadini, say . Everton, Marseille and Lyon are all also monitoring the Italian ahead of a January move.

However, the £17 million rated forward has featured in almost every game this season for the Italians and has scored just twice in 16 appearances, also picking up one red card.

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