Lucas Perez is close to a move to West Ham, with talks planned to finalise the deal on Monday, according to reports in Italy.

Matteo Moretto of the usually-reliable Di Marzio writes that Perez is ‘near to the West Ham of Pellegrini’. This is despite the English and Portuguese media’s claims that the forward was closing in on a move to Sporting CP, claims which were flatly denied by the player’s agent.

Nicolo Schira, Italian journalist for La Gazzetta dello Sport, corroborates the story that Perez is ‘getting closer’ to West Ham. He adds that the two clubs will talk on Monday to finalise a deal. The timing makes sense, as the team have been away in Sweden playing against Lazio this weekend.

It seemed like Perez was going to be given another chance in pre-season, as he took part in the opening games. However, it became clear he was planning to move on after missing out on the Chelsea and Lazio ties.

Whether this was because Perez didn’t manage to score in the opening games, whilst Nketiah, Aubameyang and Lacazette all found the net multiple times, or because he wasn’t impressing in training, it’s hard to say. A transfer before next Thursday’s deadline certainly looks likely though.