West Ham ‘accelerate’ bold swoop for £15m-rated striker as Spurs star linked with intriguing exit

Three more days, people. Three more days and we can put this whole transfer window behind us. Agents will be able to put their phones on silent, fax machines can be returned to their dusty corners, football journalists can find time to watch some actual matches, and David Moyes and Tim Steidten can stop fighting with each other. Probably.

West Ham United are very much in the market for a striker, and while Hugo Ekitike and Yousse En-Nesyri are the names that have come up the most, Hammers News have been scouring the internet for East End-related tidbits and have come up with a report that technical director Steidten, who has supposedly spent the whole summer arguing with Moyes over every last signing, quietly popped over to Brazil a couple of days ago to have a chat with Yuri Alberto in a bid to accelerate proceedings.

The 22-year-old Corinthians striker, who came to prominence with back-to-back double-digit scoring season with Internacional as a teenager, spent one ill-starred year with Zenit St. Petersburg before returning to his home country, where he’s scored 12 goals in 39 Série A games for his current club. Reports in South America previously suggested that the Hammers had a £15m bid turned down earlier in the transfer window.

The 3AM Verdict: Yuri Alberto would be an intriguing purchase. His obvious talent and early success earned him a big European move and his form since has earned him an experimental international cap, but he hasn’t shown the same level of goalscoring prowess that he did as a youngster and he isn’t a statistical standout. Clearly Steidten reckons that West Ham could get the best out of him again, however, and there is undeniably some untapped talent in those boots. Is he the 20-goal striker the fans are hoping for, however? That doesn’t seem likely.

Chelsea scrapping for Smith Rowe signing

Elsewhere in London, Chelsea have made a late bid to bring Arsenal bench-warmer Emile Smith Rowe across the capital to Cobham – but, according to the Daily Mail, Arsenal have rebuffed the bid as they don’t want to sell to a direct rival. Whether they mean a rival for top four or just ‘that lot who messed us about with Ashley Cole’ is unclear.

The Mail do say, however, that unspecified sources reckon that a bid well over market value could tempt the Gunners into a change of heart. Given that Smith Rowe has struggled to break back into the first-team after a lengthy injury lay-off, one presumes that the young England international wouldn’t mind the move too much for his part.

The 3AM Verdict: Smith Rowe has played so little since his injury that it’s hard to get a clear read on where he is these days – but he looked like a more than useful player prior to his lengthy lay-off, and Chelsea do need a number ten option after injuries to Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chukwuemeka, so you can see the attraction. Whether they can find a palatable price-point remains to be seen.

Dier news for Spurs fans

Elsewhere in London, probably on a different Tube line or something, Sport Witness have discovered some intriguing news from Tottenham Hotspur, specifically a claim that they have offered centre-back Eric Dier to Bayern Munich. And they haven’t even just offered him once, but “again and again”, apparently.

Given that the Bavarian giants have also been linked with a slightly head-scratching move for Scott McTominay recently, there’s at least some chance that Bayern take on a rather familiar look as they attempt to regain their Champions League crown. Apparently Bayern like the idea of someone who can cover both defence and midfield, and presumably wouldn’t mind bringing one of Harry Kane’s mates along to help him feel at home. How realistic this one is, we really don’t know, but supposedly the German side are “discussing it internally”.

The 3AM Verdict: Dier seems to be out of favour with new manager Ange Postecoglou and while he’s perhaps not the kind of player who you’d expect to set the world alight, he’s a solid performer who’s been doing it long enough that you can see the appeal for Bayern. It’s certainly a more obvious purchase than Eric Choupo-Moting. No word on price, or anything along those lines, and this all feels very speculative, but if it works for both parties…