West Ham are deliberating whether to activate the release clause of Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez after accepting the fate of Marko Arnautovic is likely to be in China.
Maxi Gomez is a priority for the Irons who fear they could be left without a goalscoring centre-forward for the second half of the season.
The club sent representatives to Vigo earlier in the week to try and sound out a deal for the player.
West Ham failed with an offer of £35million in the summer but are now stepping up their pursuit of the Uruguayan.
Express Sport understand that the board are now considering whether to stump up the extra cash and trigger his £44m release clause in anticipation of Arnautovic’s imminent departure