West Ham United are reportedly preparing to make a formal proposal to sign FSV Mainz 05 star Jonathan Burkardt, as per transfer journalist Ekrem Konur.
The Hammers decided to strengthen the number nine position by signing Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund last summer. But, the German hasn’t been able to serve his new club properly during the first half of this season due to injury problems. He has now returned to full fitness and even scored against Leicester City earlier this month.
After Fullkrug, the East London club have Danny Ings and Michail Antonio as the two other centre-forward options. But, the latter has suffered a serious accident and as a result, he is set to be unavailable to play football over the coming weeks.
Additionally, he will turn 35 next year and his existing deal will expire at the end of this season. On the other hand, Ings’ current deal will also expire next summer and he will turn 33 next year.
So, it seems West Ham have started looking at options to freshen up the centre-forward position and writing on X, Konur states that the Hammers have earmarked Burkardt as a serious option.
Burkardt to West Ham:
Clubs from Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga are also keen on signing him but Julen Lopetegui’s side are looking to beat the competition by submitting a £14m proposal.
Konur wrote:
“West Ham United are considering an opening bid of 17 million euros for Mainz’s 24-year-old German striker Jonathan Burkardt. Clubs from the Bundesliga, Serie A and Spain are monitoring the German’s situation.”
The 24-year-old has been enjoying a productive campaign this term, scoring 10 goals and registering a solitary assist in 13 Bundesliga appearances thus far.
He has made six goal contributions in his last four league encounters and now, the striker will face off against Bayern Munich this weekend. So, it remains to be seen how he performs against the record German champions. Burkardt has helped Mainz place themselves in the top half of the table, sitting only two points behind the European spot.
Following his promising performances in the Bundesliga, he was selected to play for Germany in the October international break and he even featured against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Netherlands.
