West Ham have been one of the highest spenders in the transfer window among the middle table teams in recent years and the club has been linked with a move for Atlanta ace Duvan Zapata. The uncertainty over the future of Marko Arnautovic has made the club begin to search for alternatives as the Austrian is expected to move to China in the summer.

Arnautovic had caused a stir in the January transfer window after he handed over a transfer request but this was rejected by the Hammers. West Ham are short of quality forwards as Javier Henandez is the only top forward in the club apart from Arnautovic.

The Mexican has also been linked by some quarters of a potential move to the MLS in the summer.  Zapata has been a surprise this season as the Colombian is enjoying his best career season with the Serie A club. He has scored 17 goals in the league already propelling his team towards qualifying for Europe this season.

It is understood that West Ham had made inquiries about the player in January which was rejected by Atlanta.  The Italian club was reluctant to lose their star player midway into the season but have no objections about selling him in the summer.

Sky Sport Italia claims that the Italian club value the player within the region of €45 million. Zapata is currently on loan from Sampdoria and Atlanta can make this move permanent for €26million.The Italian club would be looking to make a tidy profit from selling the player for a huge fee in the summer.

West Ham have made changes to their squad in the past twelve months with stalwarts like James Collins leaving and new signings such as IssaDiop arriving in the summer. It would be no surprise if the club makes this transfer in the summer.