West Ham and Serie A club still ‘far away’ from agreement on player

West Ham United and Juventus are still “far away” from an agreement on midfielder Denis Zakaria, according to TuttoJuve.

The Italian publication reported on its website on Sunday (30 July) that the Hammers have asked for the player on loan next season.

But Serie A club Juventus do not want the 26-year-old to leave on such conditions, with a permanent transfer the preferred option, added TuttoJuve.

“Juventus and West Ham are still far away for Zakaria,” according to TuttoJuve.

“The Hammers have currently only asked to play on loan and Juventus do not want Denis Zakaria to leave on these conditions.”

Transfer blow

The powers that be at West Ham may have a plan in place to replace Declan Rice, with that plan potentially having been in place ever since the end of last season.

But for fans of the club, things are not looking so comfortable, with the new Premier League season rapidly approaching and no new midfielder in the door.

The East London outfit seemingly have a long list of targets when it comes to filling the hole in midfield left by captain fantastic Rice, but they are yet to have any success in this area.

Losing Rice is a massive blow, but at least bringing in a suitable replacement would have eased fan worry ahead of the new season.

Currently, Hammers boss David Moyes can choose from the likes of Tomas Soucek, Flynn Downes and Conor Coventry for his midfield, with Brazilian attacker Lucas Paqueta potentially dropping back if required.

In other West Ham news, Moyes has mooted an important first-team role next season for a youngster the club like “a lot.”