West Ham pull out of Defoe race

West Ham end interest in signing Jermain Defoe.

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph the Hammers decided not to compete with the terms on offer from Bournemouth to take the striker to the south coast.

West Ham had a £6m offer for their former striker rejected by Sunderland in January but weren’t prepared to put that back on the table as a signing on fee on top of a weekly wage reported to be in the region of £70,000.

While Bournemouth appear willing to put that package together for a 34-year-old Slaven Bilic is looking at a number of other striking options.

In December as they plunged towards the relegation zone signing Defoe seemed an obvious move for West Ham to make but the striker only managed to score three goals for Sunderland after the transfer window closed.

Bilic is looking for a younger version of Defoe to provide mobility for his side with Andy Carroll unlikely to be part of his future plans.