• 22-year-old striker has £45m release clause in contract • West Ham tell Manchester United Issa Diop is not for sale

West Ham face an uphill battle to convince Maxi Gómez to choose them over Valencia after lodging a £25m bid for the Celta Vigo striker.

Manuel Pellegrini is determined to continue improving his squad after signing Pablo Fornals from Villarreal on Friday and has long been an admirer of Gómez. However, West Ham fear they will miss out on the Uruguayan to Valencia, who can offer the 22-year-old Champions League football.

It is understood that West Ham’s offer for Gómez has not been accepted. His contract contains a £45m release clause and Celta Vigo are using the interest in him to seek a higher fee.

Another complication is that Gómez wants assurances that he will not be back-up to Marko Arnautovic, West Ham’s first-choice striker. He will not move to the London Stadium if he is not part of Pellegrini’s favoured starting line-up.

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Pellegrini initially wanted to sign Gómez when Arnautovic was trying to move to Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League in January and he has continued to hold an interest in the Uruguayan.

West Ham, who have told Manchester United that Issa Diop is not for sale this summer, have ambitious plans under Pellegrini and do not want their summer spending to stop at Fornals, a 23-year-old attacking midfielder who has been capped twice by Spain.

Pellegrini, who oversaw a 10th-place finish in his first season at the London Stadium, wants to play attacking football next season. However, he is also aware that West Ham need to improve defensively and is targeting Eibar’s Joan Jordán. The defensive midfielder could be available for £13m.

In an effort to raise funds to finance the ambitious spree, Pellegrini will listen to offers for Sam Byram, Angelo Ogbonna, Jordan Hugill, Pedro Obiang, Reece Oxford and Javier Hernández.

However West Ham have no intention of losing Diop, who has been linked with a £45m move to United . They have made clear that the promising French defender is not for sale.