Jonathan Calleri is likely to leave West Ham United this month in search of first‑team football, with Fiorentina, Sampdoria and the Spanish side Las Palmas among the clubs interested in signing him.
The 23-year-old striker, who played for Argentina in the 2016 Olympic Games, moved to West Ham on a season-long loan from the Uruguayan club Deportivo Maldonado last summer with an option to make the deal permanent.
However, despite topping the 2015 Copa Libertadores scoring charts with the Brazilian side São Paulo, Calleri has played just 129 minutes in the Premier League having made six substitute appearances and has not even been selected as a substitute since the end of October.
With West Ham hoping to add the Brentford striker Scott Hogan to their ranks in the transfer window, having had three bids already rejected, Calleri has been told he can leave if he can find a new club.
According to a source close to the player, that has led the Serie A sides Fiorentina and Sampdoria to make enquiries about taking him on loan until the end of the season with a view to a £4m permanent transfer, with the La Liga sides Leganés and Las Palmas also interested. The Turkish club Galatasaray and São Paulo and Grêmio in Brazil could also make a bid to lure the player who was rated as one of Argentina’s most promising strikers.
It is understood that Calleri is happy at West Ham and has no problem with Slaven Bilic but is desperate to feature in more matches having only been used sparingly by the club’s under-23 side in recent weeks. Any move, however, could be subject to Fifa clearance given that he has already had two loans in the past 12 months.
Maldonado, who play in Uruguay’s second division, have a history of loaning out players who never actually appear for the first team. In July, Fiorentina signed the Argentinian midfielder Hernán Toledo on loan but, like Calleri, he has failed to make an impact and could now join his Maldonado team-mate at Las Palmas.