Norwich boss makes plans clear as West Ham eye £35m raid for 33-goal Championship duo

As West Ham United’s London neighbours Crystal Palace demonstrated at Wembley only a few weeks ago, there is plenty of value to be found in the Championship for those willing to take the plunge.

Ebere Eze, signed from Queens Park Rangers, scored the goal which secured Crystal Palace their first major trophy. Adam Wharton, brought in from Blackburn Rovers a year-and-a-half ago, ran the show against Manchester City’s megastars.

Captain Marc Guehi, the man who lifted the FA Cup, joined Palace after making his name on loan at Swansea City. And this is without mentioning Michael Olise, the £8 million addition from Reading who provided a staggering 38 goal contributions during a sensational debut season at Bayern Munich.

So while Hammers News understands that chairman David Sullivan has reservations about the Championship market – Flynn Downes struggled and the injury-hit Crysencio Summerville is yet to justify his £30 million price-tag – it appears that West Ham United might just be ready to take a leaf out of Crystal Palace’s playbook.

Josh Brownhill is in talks to join West Ham on a free transfer. The Burnley skipper scored a career-best 18 goals from central midfield as Scott Parker’s side secured automatic promotion in 2024/25.

Hammers News understands that Norwich City’s free-scoring forward duo of Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz are under consideration at the London Stadium too.

Norwich will demand big fees as West Ham United eye Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz

Sargent and Sainz scored 33 Championship goals between them last season, the latter narrowly missing out on the Golden Boot to Leeds United frontman Joel Piroe.

Since the summer of 2018, Norwich have sold six players for eight-figure sums. James Maddison, Emi Buendia, Jonathan Rowe, Ben Godfrey, Andrew Omobamidele and Gabriel Sara.