Everton failed with £45m deadline day offer to land West Ham forward – Exclusive
Everton were prepared to pay more than £40million for West Ham United striker Taty Castellanos on Deadline Day, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal, as their frantic search for a new forward took another unexpected turn.
Castellanos joined West Ham from Lazio in the January transfer window in a deal worth just shy of £30million, but despite his arrival the Argentine international was unable to prevent the Hammers from suffering relegation to the Championship.
The 27-year-old is now part of West Ham’s squad tasked with helping the club bounce back to the Premier League, but his stay in east London could have been considerably shorter had Everton been able to complete a deal on the final day of the window.
We understand Everton made contact over Castellanos as their attempts to land Folarin Balogun, Joshua Zirkzee and Tammy Abraham began to falter.
The former New York City FC striker was a player Everton rated highly and, on Tuesday afternoon, they made a verbal offer worth around £40million plus another £5million in add-ons for Castellanos.
West Ham were prepared to listen to the proposal and would have been willing to accept the offer if they could find a suitable replacement for the Argentine before the window closed.
However, Everton’s approach came with only a few hours of the transfer window remaining, leaving West Ham with very little time to identify and secure another striker.
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West Ham blocked late Everton move for Castellanos
The Hammers knew they could not afford to leave themselves short in attack while attempting to mount an immediate promotion challenge, and ultimately decided they could not sanction Castellanos’ departure without having a replacement lined up.
As a result, Everton’s move failed to materialise despite their willingness to pay significantly more than the fee West Ham had paid Lazio for the striker only months earlier.
Castellanos had emerged as another option for Everton during an increasingly difficult Deadline Day as the club worked through a number of potential solutions to strengthen their attack.
Their primary pursuit of Balogun ultimately collapsed when he walked away from a deal after the two clubs had appeared to be close to completing a deal, while efforts involving Zirkzee and Abraham also failed to produce a deal.
United said no to Zirkzee’s prospective loan with option, whilst we can confirm the deal for Abraham was agreed between Everton and Aston Villa but the player said no to The Toffees.
Everton therefore turned to Castellanos as they continued searching for a forward they believed could make an immediate impact, with the £40million proposal demonstrating the level of investment they were prepared to make.
For West Ham, however, the timing of the approach proved decisive. They were willing to consider a major offer for Castellanos, but only on the condition that they could replace him, and the lack of time made that impossible.
The Argentine consequently remains at West Ham, where he will now focus on helping Nuno’s side fight their way back into the Premier League.
For Everton, the failed Castellanos approach represents another chapter in a Deadline Day that ultimately did not go to plan.
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