West Ham United missed out on the signing of Duvan Zapata late on transfer deadline day as they ran out of time to complete the deal.
According to Football Insider, West Ham United failed to get a deal over the line to sign Duvan Zapata from Italian outfit Atalanta on the deadline day.
It is no secret that the Hammers had been scouring the transfer market for reinforcements in the attacking unit last month. A new No. 9 was a top priority for David Moyes’ side as they have no viable alternative for Michail Antonio in the position. Considering that they are competing for a top-four finish and are in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League, it was necessary to add a new striker to the squad.
This requirement led to West Ham being linked with a slew of centre-forwards throughout the past few weeks. Having failed to bring in anyone up until the deadline day, the east London outfit made an approach for Liverpool’s Divock Origi, but no move materialised.
With time running out fast, the Hammers seemingly made a late swoop to try and secure the signing of Duvan Zapata from Atalanta. The 30-year-old has been with Atalanta since 2018 when he signed from Sampdoria, initially on loan, before the transfer was made permanent in January 2020.
The Colombian has been a consistent performer for La Dea, producing a tally of 78 goals and 38 assists from 152 matches, playing a key role in their rise to prominence in Italian football. This term, Zapata has been in good form, having been directly involved in 19 goals from just 22 games across all competitions.
This impressive form led to West Ham plotting a last-ditch swoop for the striker on the January transfer deadline day. The report claims that the Hammers launched a loan-to-buy bid for Zapata on Monday and met Atalanta’s demands of a £5.5 million loan fee. Both clubs reached a total agreement over the option to make the transfer permanent in the summer.
West Ham are even understood to have submitted the deal sheet to the Premier League to finalise the move. But the club could not complete the requisite paperwork in time, leading to the transfer collapsing. It meant that West Ham went the entire transfer window without any new signing, leaving manager Moyes frustrated.
Having missed out on Zapata’s transfer, West Ham will have to go through the remainder of the season with Antonio as their only natural option in the No. 9 position, with Moyes likely to call upon Jarrod Bowen in case his main striker is unavailable.
