West Ham rivalling Arsenal for striker transfer after explosive Champions League debut

West Ham are among a long list of clubs chasing highly-rated Feyenoord frontman Santiago Gimenez.

The Mexican hot-shot has struck 15 times in 11 outings in all competitions this season - netting a brace on his Champions League debut against Lazio on Wednesday evening. West Ham, Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Lazio, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have all watched the 22-year-old in action during months gone by and Feyenoord are braced for winter approaches.

West Ham were ahead of the game and actually initiated preliminary talks over a deal for Gimenez in August - both with Feyenoord and his representatives - following the sale of Gianluca Scamacca - but the player opted to extend his contract in Rotterdam until 2027.

He was one of several names recommended to the club by technical director Tim Steidten before the Irons later explored alternative targets such as Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri and Corinthians attacker Yuri Alberto.

Now Gimenez's value has sky-rocketed upwards of £40million although Feyenoord have no interest in selling their most-valuable asset, particularly halfway through the current campaign, in January.

A new striker is one of the topics at the top of West Ham's transfer agenda with Danny Ings still struggling to provide serious competition for Michail Antonio. Although Gimenez is not the only target of interest - he is believed to be a popular pick among the Hammers' transfer committee despite widespread competition from across Europe.

Earlier this week, intermediary Morris Pagniello, who claims to be assisting Gimenez's father during talks over the striker's future, said Tottenham and Real Madrid are in the box-seat for a future transfer. However, it's understood the