West Ham United are interested in signing Watford forward Emmanuel Dennis, according to a report from The Athletic.
During what was a difficult campaign for the Hornets during 2021/22, the Nigeria international was one of the few positives to come out of Vicarage Road.
The 24-year-old was signed from Club Brugge last summer and made an instant impact with an opening day goal and an assist in the 3-2 victory over Aston Villa upon the Hertfordshire club’s return to the Premier League.
Despite the Nigerian’s continued exploits, Watford were relegated and Dennis could now be on the move once again.
As per The Athletic, West Ham have ‘intimated that they are prepared to pay £18million plus £2million in add-ons’ for the five-cap Nigeria international.
It’s claimed that Dennis – who Watford valued between £20million and £25million – is on a ‘list of recruitment targets’ at the London Stadium as David Moyes and Rob Newman attempt to strengthen the Irons’ attacking ranks.
However, as things stand, the Irons are not expected to advance their interest in the man hailed as ‘very talented’ by his former manager Claudio Ranieri following an impressive start to life in England, even though the 24-year-old is ’99 per cent certain to be leaving’ Vicarage Road this summer.
In spite of the dismal 2021/22 campaign overall for the Hertfordshire club, Dennis ended the season with 10 goals and six assists in 33 league outings, winning 6.2 duels, making one key pass and taking 1.8 shots per game (Sofascore).
Comfortable playing on either wing and as a centre-forward, the dynamic attacker with 46 career goals would be a superb addition to Moyes’ attacking ranks, capable of covering for regular starters Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals.