West Ham closing in on Nikica Jelavic and Michail Antonio after Maïga departs

The Hull striker Nikica Jelavic is understood to be having a medical with West Ham while the London club have also had an improved offer for Michail Antonio accepted by Nottingham Forest.


Injuries to Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia, plus the departure of Modibo Maïga to Al Nassr, have left West Ham short of options and they are believed to have agreed a fee for the 30-year-old Croatia international.

Jelavic, who knows the West Ham manager, Slaven Bilic, from the latter’s time in charge of Croatia, scored eight goals in Hull’s unsuccessful fight against relegation from the Premier League last season and underwent surgery on a long-standing knee problem earlier this year.

West Ham’s second bid for Antonio, thought to be in the region of £7m, comes less than a week after the Premier League club saw their initial approach turned down.
The Hammers had offered around £5m plus Matt Jarvis on a season-long loan deal. Forest had also previously rejected bids from West Brom and Derby for Antonio, who is it understood is due in London for talks on Monday.

Antonio has made a huge impact at the City Ground since joining Forest from Sheffield Wednesday last summer in a £1.5m deal.