Newcastle United and West Ham United are reportedly battling it out for star Hellas Verona forward Giovanni Simeone.
Simeone, who is the son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego, is currently out on loan at Verona from fellow Serie A side Cagliari, and he has impressed greatly, currently second in the league's top scorers list with nine goals in 11 games.
Four of those goals came in a stunning performance against Maurizio Sarri's Lazio, where he scored all four goals as Verona won 4-1 last month.
According to a report from L'Arena (via Tutto Hellas Verona), Premier League outfits Newcastle and West Ham are both interested in Simeone.
However, Verona do have the option to make his loan deal permanent for €12 million, so the Premier League sides might not have to negotiate with Cagliari, but with Verona instead.
Both Newcastle and West Ham are looking to add to their options up front, especially in the January transfer window, with the Magpies wanting additional options to cover for Callum Wilson and to make sure that they stay up this season, while the Irons want to have other options up front, not just Michail Antonio, who has been on fire this season.
With the two teams being at opposite ends of the league table, with West Ham in third and Newcastle in nineteenth, it all depends on who offers the best amount of money, and if Simeone prefers rotating with Antonio in London or else having a much more guaranteed role alongside Wilson in the Northeast.
Simeone has performed remarkably in 2021, and while stats show that he could have overperformed his expected goals over the last few months, buying him could be rather low risk, especially since he has a relatively low price tag when compared to the other transfers that the two clubs have made over recent years.
