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Earlier today, it was reported that West Ham United will meet the $16 million asking price for New York City FC striker Taty Castellanos.
West Ham is prepared to pay the full sticker price to sign Castellanos according to British tabloid the Mirror. The 23-year-old Argentine won the Golden Boot last season, and continues to be one of the best strikers in MLS this year with seven goals in ten league games, and 11 goals in 13 competitive matches.
West Ham was first linked to Castellanos during the January transfer window, and fresh rumors surfaced last week detailing the London’s club renewed interest in Castellanos. West Ham are known to be in the market for a productive goal-scorer: The club finished the English Premier League season in seventh place, and qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League, but they ended up a disappointing two points behind Manchester United, who will play in the more prestigious UEFA Europa League.
At this point, the West Ham rumor is just that, but you can triangulate it via different sources. Recently, Spanish sports publication Marca linked Castellanos to West Ham and River Plate. Three days ago, sports Journalist Sebastián Srur tweeted that River should cross Castellanos off their list: All indications point to West Ham in his destiny.
Tachen a Castellanos. Todo indica que el West Ham va a ser su destino. #River
— Sebastián Srur (@Sebasrur) May 22, 2022
It was widely presumed that Castellanos would leave NYCFC this year. The forward developed into one of the most prolific goal-scorers in MLS while at NYCFC, and his technical abilities and work rate are thought to be at the level of a more competitive league.
To be honest, it’s a bit of a surprise that Castellanos is still in New York City. He was expected to leave during the January transfer window, and when a trade wasn't announced he posted an enigmatic tweet on January 27 that seemed to imply that a deal was in the works but then a club didn’t keep their promise. Later, Leeds was linked to Castellanos shortly before former head coach Marcelo Bielsa left the club.
The summer transfer window for the EPL will open on June 10, and close on September 1. The secondary transfer window for MLS will open on July 7, and close on August 4.