Football League Daily – West Ham prefer Parker loan as Gudjohnsen looks set to arrive
West Ham United have been installed as one of the pre-season favourites for promotion from the Npower Championship as they look to make an instant return to the Premier League following the disappointment of relegation last season. Hammers fans are optimistic that despite the clubs well reported financial problems, the recruitment of Sam Allardyce as manager to replace the ill-fated Avram Grant is the correct one to help them bounce back to the top-flight at the first attempt.
It does though seem as if they will have to do it without their talisman of last season, as Footballer of the Year, Scott Parker, seems to be on the verge of a move away from Upton Park. The 30-year-old is unlikely to want to play in the Championship, after a campaign which saw him earn a return to the international fold with England under Fabio Capello. It was thought that Chelsea were the favourites for his signature, but the move of Stewart Downing to Liverpool for £20m has put Aston Villa in the frame for the former Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United player.
West Ham would prefer to do the deal with Parker’s former club at Stamford Bridge, as it was believed that Chelsea would be willing to discuss a loan deal for one year, with the Blues paying a fee to borrow Parker, and him returning to the Hammers should they achieve promotion. Co-Owner of West Ham, David Sullivan was quoted on the BBC Sport website as saying: “A loan deal would appeal to us because we love Scott. We would obviously want a loan fee because he has substantial value to us.”
Whilst Parker is on his way out, the Hammers are moving to bring players in. They have already completed the shock signing of Newcastle skipper Kevin Nolan, reuniting him with Allardyce who was his boss at Bolton Wanderers, and the signing of striker Eidur Gudjohnsen seems imminent.
The 32-year-old Icelandic international is another player who has worked under Allardyce before, with the new Hammers boss introducing him to the English game at Bolton. From there Gudjohnsen moved onto Chelsea and Barcelona before returning to the Premier League with Stoke City.
Gudjohnsen though spent the latter part of last season on loan at Fulham, and is available on a free transfer, having seen out his contract at the Britannia Stadium and being surplus to requirements for Tony Pulis. It is understood that Gudjohnsen undertook a medical on Thursday and could be unveiled on Friday.
The Icelander could well be a replacement for Carlton Cole, who looks set to make the journey in the opposite direction after West Ham agreed a fee with Stoke City for the 27-year-old England forward. That deal is yet to be completed as Stoke chairman Peter Coates told Sky Sports News: “We're still on the case. The (coaching) team is away at the moment and will be back on Thursday. Tony (Pulis) likes to be around for these things.”
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