West Ham chase £30m deal for ‘new Mo Salah’ as contract situation aids Irons

West Ham United are reportedly hoping to land Denmark ace Andreas Skov Olsen, who has been compared to Liverpool hero Mo Salah.

According to Football Insider, West Ham have ‘set their sights’ on Skov Olsen after being alerted to his contract situation. The right winger’s deal is due to expire in June 2026, which could put Club Brugge at risk of having to sell him in January or next summer.

Brugge are aware of the growing interest in their player and have give him a price tag of between £25-30million (up to €35.6m / $38.8m).

West Ham are the side most eager to land Skov Olsen currently, though Football Insider state that they could face competition as he is ‘on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs’.

Skov Olsen would be an exciting capture for West Ham as he has been labelled the ‘new Salah’.

The report cites Danish journalist Klaus Egelund, who previously described the forward by saying: “He is an Eden Hazard type, but since he’s left-footed and plays on the right, you could better compare him to [Arjen] Robben or Salah.”

Who is West Ham’s latest target?

Skov Olsen is a 24-year-old winger who mainly plays on the right but can also operate on the left if needed.

He came through the ranks at FC Nordsjaelland and went on to register 27 goals and seven assists in 51 appearances for their first team.

That earned Skov Olsen a move to Serie A outfit Bologna in July 2019. However, things did not go to plan for Skov Olsen in Italy as he managed just three goals and five assists in 71 games for Bologna.

To try and reignite his career, the wide man left for Brugge in January 2022 and has successfully put himself back in the shop window for major clubs.

Overall, Skov Olsen’s record for Brugge stands at 46 goals and 25 assists in 113 matches. West Ham’s interest has been piqued by Skov Olsen managing five goals and one assist in 12 Jupiler Pro League outings this term.

He is also a full Denmark international, having represented his nation on 35 occasions to date.

West Ham could look to sign Skov Olsen to provide an extra spark in their attack if they lose top players such as Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta at the end of the campaign.

However, it remains to be seen whether Skov Olsen ends up working with West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui.

The 58-year-old manager is under pressure to engineer consistent results, with West Ham’s 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday leaving them 14th in the Premier League.

West Ham transfers: Serie A swoop, Arsenal concern

Meanwhile, TEAMtalk can reveal Atalanta star Ademola Lookman is another forward being looked at by West Ham.

The versatile ace has shone for Atalanta since heading to Italy in August 2022, even scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen earlier this year.

West Ham hold long-term interest in Lookman but will have to pay upwards of £60m (€71.3m / $77.5m) to sign him. Atalanta want to tie him down to a longer contract to maintain this value.

While Lookman could arrive at the London Stadium, Kudus’ future is unclear.

Reports in the English press claim Arsenal will look to replace Leandro Trossard by capturing Kudus from West Ham.

Arsenal are big admirers of the 24-year-old and even tried to sign him before he swapped Ajax for West Ham in August 2023.