West Ham want Olivier Giroud as Arsenal striker prepares to quit the club for regular first team football
Hammers eye unsettled Marseille target Giroud who has admitted he needs to play more than he has been for Gunners
WEST HAM are lining up a move for unsettled Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud.
The Hammers are desperate to bring in two top class strikers this summer as they overhaul their squad after a disappointing campaign.
And Gunners star Giroud is now in their sights after he admitted he needs more regular first team football than he has been getting at the Emirates.
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say West Ham are prepared to make a move for the Frenchman and offer him the opportunity to stay in the Premier League.
French club Marseille have been tracking the 30-year-old for the past six months and would love to strike a deal with Arsenal.
But the Hammers are understood to be willing to match the £20million asking price the Gunners would want before they agree to sell their man.
Giroud is currently away with the France squad preparing to face England in a friendly in Paris on Tuesday night.
And he spoke candidly to French reporters last week when he said he is not happy with being a bit-part player for Arsene Wenger.
Giroud said: “Wenger is counting on me, even though he hasn’t used me much. I won’t settle for such limited playing time.”
Wenger has admitted he may find it hard to persuade Giroud to stay with the club even though he wants him to be part of his squad next season.
And his pursuit of French strikers Kylian Mbappe and Alexandre Lacazette has only served to unsettle Giroud further.
Wenger is considering smashing the world transfer record to land Monaco starlet Mbappe ahead of Real Madrid.
And he has also been in France attempting to arrange a £50m deal to sign Lacazette from Lyon, who saw a move to Atletico Madrid collapse when the Spanish club saw their appeal against a transfer ban fail.
Giroud now feels his starting opportunities will be limited next season and is ready to ask his manager to let him move on for the good of his career.
West Ham have made signing strikers a priority this summer, having failed with a £20m bid for Manchester City start Kelechi Iheanacho.
They have also been hoping to sign Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi on loan, although that deal is up in the air because the club now look certain to dump Diego Costa.
The Hammers are worried about being caught in a delayed saga for Batshuayi, and would prefer to get much of their transfer business done early this summer.