Report: Hammers Ready to Meet the Price for City Starlet!

West Ham United may be on the verge of signing a Manchester City player this summer, according to recent reports. The Hammers have already added Brazilian winger Luis Guilherme to their squad.

Julen Lopetegui, looking to mold the team to his possession-based style, is targeting a Manchester City player. There are indications that West Ham is prepared to meet City’s asking price for left-back Sergio Gomez.

According to Mundo Deportivo, West Ham, along with Roma, AC Milan, and Real Betis, are interested in Gomez, with some clubs ready to pay the £12.7m fee. West Ham could be one of those clubs, but it remains to be seen if City will receive an official offer for the ‘talented’ defender, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

Gomez reportedly prefers a move to Real Sociedad, but the Spanish club is not hurrying to finalize a deal, potentially allowing West Ham to make their case. Lopetegui will need to persuade Gomez to join, despite West Ham missing out on European football, which makes them less attractive.

Gomez could replace Emerson Palmieri, who might be heading to Italy.

In other news, West Ham’s leadership, including David Sullivan and Karren Brady, are facing backlash for a controversial ticket pricing scheme that could jeopardize a £50m income stream. The relationship between the club’s board and fans has been strained since the move to the London Stadium in 2016, with many fans feeling the new stadium lacks atmosphere and the savings from the stadium move have not been passed on to them.

The new pricing policy reduces the age for senior tickets and restricts concession tickets to less accessible areas, which has upset many older and younger fans. Critics argue this could price out these supporters, even though the club might gain a maximum of £600,000 in annual matchday revenue from the move. This is a small amount compared to the £41m earned from ticket sales last season and the overall revenue of £237m.

A boycott, led by the group Save Our Concessions, could impact West Ham’s commercial income. The group is urging fans to boycott the club’s main sponsor, Betway, and to avoid attending the Betway Cup. Similar protests have had tangible impacts at other clubs, and a significant expansion of this boycott could potentially reduce West Ham’s commercial appeal and sponsorship income.