West Ham eyeing up move for Juventus outcast Gonzalo Higuain

The summer transfer window has been something of a mixed bag for West Ham United so far, but there's still plenty of time for that to change.

They kicked it off in superb style with the impressive £25m acquisition of Spanish international Pablo Fornals from Villarreal who looks like a fantastic addition.

He's comfortable playing anywhere across the midfield and will add guile, technical ability and flair alongside the likes of Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini. West Ham's creative options look like arguably the best outside the "big six" so there's plenty of potential for them to really go and build on that 10th placed finish last term.

But if they are to do that then they need someone who's going to put the ball in the back of the net and at the moment, their options are limited in the striking department with only Javier Hernandez and forgotten man Jordan Hugill on the books.

They only had one player last season to hit double figures in the Premier League and he has now moved on, with Marko Arnautovic finally getting his transfer to the Chinese Super League where he's joined Shanghai SIPG.

The Austrian is a superb player on his day but his horrendous attitude led to the Hammers agreeing to a cut price deal to get him out the club, with them receiving a reported £22.5m - a small figure for a player of his quality.

A replacement is needed ASAP with the club back in pre-season training and for some time Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez has been his top target. He's a Uruguay international who's just 22 years of age, a proven goalscorer in La Liga with bags of potential, so signing him would be a massive coup and he could potentially lead the line for many years.

But despite agreeing to pay his £45m release clause, the deal looks set to fall through following a disagreement over the payment structure. Valencia look set to swoop in and hijack the deal meaning West Ham are going to have to look elsewhere.

Step forward Gonzalo Higuain...

The Argentine was regarded as one of the deadliest strikers in world football just three years ago when he made a then club record £75m move to Juventus, so surely recruiting him would be a big statement?

Well in those three years he's endured a pretty sharp decline. Juve are keen to offload him on a permanent deal and his stock is at the lowest it's ever been in his career after failing to deliver in two disappointing loan spells with AC Milan and most recently Chelsea last season.

He's on mega money in Turin and to complete a permanent deal it's believed that they'd want a fee in the region of £30m, big money when you see how he struggled in the Premier League a few months ago.

At Stamford Bridge he worked under Maurizio Sarri, the man who coached him to the most prolific season of his career (2015/16) at Napoli where he netted a staggering 36 goals in 38 Serie A outings. But his second spell under the Italian didn't really go to plan, netting just 5 times in 18 matches which led to the Blues passing up on the chance to sign him permanently.

At the age of 31 you'd think he'd still have a fair bit to offer but the lack of interest in him indicates otherwise, with only West Ham and Roma credited with an interest in him.

Moving to the London Stadium would be a lucrative one but also one of the most West Ham transfers ever. Missing out on a promising, exciting young player and going for a veteran.

The Hammers have a reputation for handing out deals to players who are past their peak, with the likes of Patrice Evra, Samir Nasri and Alvaro Arbeloa just three examples of this over the years. Higuain despite being a big name looks so far away from the player he once was at Real Madrid and Napoli & he'd command a huge salary - surely West Ham aren't going to be sucked in and pay it?

Maxi Gomez's impending transfer to Valencia is a colossal blow to Manuel Pellegrini and despite them being desperate for a new forward, throwing money at someone who looks over the hill isn't the way forward.

It looks like they're hoping to complete a loan deal with an option to buy, but his big wages would still make this a very expensive move. Juve on the other hand just want to get rid so it remains to be seen if they can come to some sort of compromise.

But it looks like the departures of Arnautovic, Lucas Perez and Andy Carroll are forcing the Chileans hand slightly, so in true West Ham tradition it looks like they're set to go for another experienced, but over the hill player.