West Ham will thrash it out with Besiktas for the signing of Juventus striker Mario Manduzkic, reports talkSPORT.
The Hammers are keen to bring in a new striker at the end of the season having failed to sufficiently strengthen their attack last summer, despite lodging big money bids for Carlos Bacca, Alexandre Lacazette and Michy Batshuayi.
30-year-old Mandzukic is now on their wanted list, with the Croatia international tipped to leave Turin at the end of the campaign, despite featuring fairly frequently under Max Allegri this term.
However, a number of his starts have come on the left wing, with Mandzukic hoping to return to his favoured central striking role, though with Gonzalo Higuain currently Juventus’ first choice frontman, that’s unlikely to come to fruition in Italy.
What’s more is Mandzukic has just 15 months left to run on his current deal with the Serie A champions and has shown no signs that he is prepared to extend his stay in Turin beyond 2018.
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic worked with Manduzkic during his time as Croatia manager and is keen to link up with his compatriot at the London Stadium.
Besiktas, though, would rival West Ham for Manduzkic’s signature as they look to secure a replacement for Mario Gomez, who excelled during his time in Istanbul.
For more stats on Mario Mandzukic, click here to view his WhoScored player page
