West Ham boss Zola desperate to hammer out deals for Inter duo Balotelli and Jiminez

19 June 2009 12:04
Gianfranco Zola has urged out of favour Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli to quit the San Siro and join West Ham this summer. The gifted Italian under-21 international has two years left to run on his contract with the Serie A champions but looks set to be forced out by frustrated boss Jose Mourinho and Zola is keen to beat the long queue of interested suitors to the striker's services. The former Chelsea manager has lost all patience with the promising 18-year-old, having repeatedly expressed his displeasure over his lazy attitude in training which resulted in the pacey attacker's exclusion from his first team in January. But that has not deterred Zola who is actively looking to add more firepower to his squad for the forthcoming campaign owed to the uncertainty surrounding injury prone Dean Ashton's long-term fitness.

Source: Daily_Mail