West Ham handed huge boost in race for £17m Haaland alternative, he's a goal "machine" - opinion

West Ham United have been handed a huge boost in their bid to bring Sasa Kalajdzic to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report by German media outlet Fussball Transfers (via Sport Witness), who claim that, despite being made a tempting contract renewal offer by VfB Stuttgart, the centre-forward looks unlikely to put pen to paper on a new deal at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

The report goes on to suggest that, as a result of his contractual situation, the Bundesliga side could be willing to sanction the sale of the 24-year-old this summer, with a figure of around €20m (£17m) believed to be enough to prise the Austria international away from Germany.

Considering how heavily West Ham have been linked with a move for Kalajdzic over the past year, with Kicker reporting earlier this month that David Moyes’ side remain keen on a deal for the Stuttgart star this summer, the news that the 24-year-old looks set to leave Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side at the end of the season is sure to come as a huge boost to the Hammers.

Indeed, while a shoulder injury has kept the £19.8m-rated striker out of action for the majority of Stuttgart’s 2021/22 campaign, the 6 foot 7 giant proved over his 33 Bundesliga appearances last season exactly why he has been both compared to and tipped to be an alternative signing for Borussia Dortmund centre-forward Erling Haaland.

Indeed, last time out, the man dubbed a “machine” scored 16 goals, registered six assists and created five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 0.8 passes per league fixture.

These returns saw the £6.6k-per-week hitman average a sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.13, ranking him as Matarazzo’s