Premier League club West Ham United are lining up a surprise attempt to sign Arsenal duo Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott this summer. The east London could pay up a £50m fee to pursue the Gunners pair.
According to The Star, Slaven Bilic’s team are weighing up a double swoop for Giroud and Walcott as they seek to strengthen their forward options for the 2017/18 season.
Giroud, 30, had been largely used as a ‘super sub’ during the previous campaign as he netted 12 league goals while starting just 11 games in the process.
Despite this, the France international has highlighted his intention to win the Premier League with Arsenal although he is assessing his future amid the club’s ongoing pursuit of Alexandre Lacazette.
Giroud has always had his critics for his slow movement on the playing field, but he has nevertheless managed to contribute nearly 100 goals in his five-year stay at the Emirates.
West Ham United are planning to lodge a club-record fee of around £20m in order to offer him a regular run in the starting lineup for the next season.
On the other hand, Walcott enjoyed a regular run for Arsenal for much of the campaign before Wenger opted to shift to a new look 3-4-2-1 formation.
Under the new system, Walcott found himself as a regular on the substitutes’ bench as Oxlade-Chamberlain received preference to adapt to the right wing-back spot.
Still, Walcott managed 23 starts in the league while netting 19 goals across all competitions – his best goalscoring tally since the 2012-13 season.
Walcott is likely to cost a higher sum of around £30m for West Ham United, and this could potentially make him the Hammers’ record signing this summer.
