West Ham line up double swoop for Kevin Gameiro and Ahmed Fathy

24 August 2010 10:19
Hot prospect: Lorient striker Kevin Gameiro[LNB]West Ham have had a £8million bid for France striker Kevin Gameiro rejected by his club Lorient.[LNB]Lorient are reportedly holding out for £11.5m as Gameiro is one of the hottest young prospects in the country, according to The Sun.[LNB]The 23-year-old has played for France's Under-21 side and is expected to get his first senior call-up next month. [LNB]He has already scored 17 goals this season and West Ham boss Avram Grant is looking to strengthen his side after back-to-back losses in the Barclays Premier League.[LNB]But Gameiro has two years left on his contract and Lorient are will want an extra £2.5m from the Hammers before any deal can be done.[LNB]Reports in Egypt, meanwhile, suggest Grant is also chasing Alky midfielder Ahmed Fathy.[LNB]The Egyptian champions are said to be prepared to let Fathy go for around £1.5m but expect to receive an offer by Wednesday.[LNB]The 25-year-old has won more than 70 caps for Egypt and has won the Africa Cup of Nations with his country three times.[LNB]But he struggled to adapt to English football three years ago when he had an unsuccessful spell with Sheffield United in 2007.[LNB] One player on his way out of Upton Park could be attacker Alessandro Diamanti, who has refused to rule out a move to Brescia in Serie A, who was linked with earlier this week.[LNB]Another top target: Egyptian midfielder Ahmed Fathy[LNB]The 27-year-old sat out the Hammers' 3-1 defeat by Bolton Wanderers last weekend due to an injury.[LNB]But he told bresciaoggi.it: 'Me to Brescia? I cannot say anything. I didn't play against Bolton because I am injured a little bit. Now, I am a West Ham player.[LNB]Going back to Italy? I have many possibilities. Brescia wouldn't be an unwelcome solution.'[LNB]Brescia president Luigi Corioni is hoping to finalise a deal for Diamanti on Wednesday and also expressed an interest in West Ham full-back Fabio Daprela.[LNB]He told Sky Italia: 'I never believed I would buy Eder and Diamanti, but the first one is already ours and it seems we can also take the second one.[LNB]'Diamanti is very close to Brescia, I would say he is 70-80 per cent ours. I hope I can close the deal tomorrow and he will be ours outright.[LNB]'If Diamanti arrives, our minimum target can no longer be just survival, but something more.'On his chances of signingDaprela, Corioni added: 'West Ham ask so much for Daprela, a young and strong left-back, but it is a feasible deal.'[LNB]  Sunderland keen on £15m West Ham striker Carlton Cole West Ham midfielder Alessandro Diamanti headed for Brescia after failing to sparkleWEST HAM FC

Source: Daily_Mail