West Ham, Juventus Increase Pursuit of Tottenham Target

Tottenham Hotspur don’t have much time left to sign Michy Batshuayi with West Ham United’s bid being heavily considered despite the Belgian striker’s preference to join Spurs.

Articles from The Guardian and Read West Ham are reporting that both West Ham and Juventus are stepping up their pursuit of Olympique Marseille’s Michy Batshuayi. This comes on the heels of the Ligue 1 club only having until the end of the month to sell their most prized asset before the transfer deadline.

Lost in the hustle and bustle involving the 22-year-old striker’s future, is that Tottenham haven’t submitted any bids. Right now, both West Ham and Juventus have sent in €35 million (plus significant add-ons) and €30 million, respectively.

The Hammers hold the record for an official bid and it’s something that Marseille are strongly considering despite their offer being short by €5 million.

Juve’s offer on the other hand, while it’s €10 million less than Marseille want, I Bianconeri can’t finalize a deal because Real Madrid haven’t officially completed the transfer of Spanish striker Alvaro Morata yet. But once that happens, all bets are off and they can compete with West Ham.

With time running out and two clubs gunning for the Belgian international who has yet to make an appearance in the European Championship, as he has been on the bench for all three of Belgium’s group stage matches, it’s looking unlikely that Tottenham will fork over €40 million.

Let alone what West Ham and Juventus have offered thus far.

PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 04: Michy Batshuayi of Olympique de Marseille celebrates his goal during the Ligue 1 game between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille at Parc des Princes on October 4, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) /

There’s a reason for concern with how Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy are handling the striker position right now with three targets they’re all chasing at the same time.

In Michy Batshuayi’s case, €40 million (£30.7 million) isn’t his actual value, more than likely it’s half of that. Secondly, with Olympique Marseille needing to sell as soon as possible recouping as much money back — plus the club president leaning towards West Ham’s offer — Spurs don’t have much of a chance.

The only saving grace is Batshuayi’s preference to join Tottenham rather than play for the Hammers and even Juventus.

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In some instances, a player’s input is factored into a team’s decision on where to sell them. Morgan Schneiderlin is one such example.

He wanted to join Spurs but also wanted Champions League football. Tottenham didn’t have that last summer but Manchester United did — and with them being a big club — Schneiderlin’s decision was simple which forced Southampton’s hands as he was intent on leaving St. Mary’s Stadium.

That could still work even know, but in order for Tottenham to have it their way, Marseille has to get as much money back in other sales to properly balance out a major loss on their end if Batshuayi is sold for less than they initially wanted.

This is where Vicent Janssen and Antonio Sanabria factor into Spurs’ plans of signing Batshuayi. Both players individually aren’t as talented as the Belgian striker, but they’re still good enough combined with Harry Kane.

Assuming that Marseille won’t entertain any bid less than €30 million (£22.9 million), based on the current information available for Janssen and Sanabria. The two would fetch for a grand total of £23.5 million and would be less of a headache than the transfer saga currently surrounding Michy Batshuayi.

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The only things that are standing in front of Vincent Janssen and Antonio Sanabria’s arrival to north London is that Tottenham haven’t sent in an offer for the AZ Alkmaar striker which has given Wolfsburg a chance to swoop in to launch a bid of their own.

As for Roma, who have just lost Miralem Pjanić to Juventus, they want a player in return and the Italian club have their sights on Christian Eriksen. Losing Eriksen for Sanabria is a terrible trade to begin with.

Currently Tottenham have three strikers they want but it’s entirely possible they don’t sign any despite being very close to pulling the trigger on all of them.