West Ham on pole to sign Arsenal hitman Eddie Nketiah with third round of talks looming

West Ham are reportedly leading the race to sign 22-year-old Arsenal star Eddie Nketiah upon the expiry of his contract this summer.

Nketiah and Arsenal have been in a contract stand-off for some time now and the chance of a new deal is slimming.

The 22-year-old has hit a purple patch of form lately. His goals have greatly increased Arsenal’s hopes of landing in a top four spot at the end of the season.

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The striker has scored four goals in his last four games and has been the stand-out player in Mikel Arteta’s team in recent weeks.

Nketiah’s contract, however, runs out this summer and the striker looks set to leave the north London club.

Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace were rumoured to be leading the charge, but West Ham have seemingly taken over. That is according to the Daily Mail.

The article notes the Hammers are poised to take advantage of the contract impasse and ‘will move‘ for Nketiah if there is no resolution.

After the striker’s brace against Leeds United on Sunday, the Daily Mail report that Arteta has made a plea to Nketiah. He wants the striker to stay and admitted he ‘absolutely adores him.’

Contract talks have been held twice now with Nketiah’s agents and another round of negotiations are set to take place.

The key problem throughout the talks has been the amount of playtime Nketiah will