West Ham to Sign Behrami?

The Daily Mail, who two days ago claimed West Ham were so poor they would have to sell half their current team, now say West Ham will sign Lazio right-back Valon Behrami.

Behrami has repeatedly denied that he would move to West Ham but according to The Mail the 23-year old Switzerland defender flew into London for a medical yesterday. What's more The Mail say that West Ham will sign Behrami for less than a third of his initial £11m valuation after he informed Lazio he was invoking article 17, which gives players nearing the end of their contracts the right to move on without costing a fee.

West Ham will have to pay Lazio compensation, which will probably be around the £2 million mark. The Mail claim that Behrami's arrival will mean West Ham will then sell Lucas Neill to Man City.

The rumours linking Behrami with West Ham have been furthered by the claims of Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini. Zamparini said,

"For Behrami, I tried to establish contact with (Lazio president) Claudio Lotito some time ago, but have not received any answers.

"I now believe that the player will go to West Ham."

However it seems that Behrami's agent is less sure. Today Alessandro Beltrami said,

“I’m speaking with three clubs in London and I’ll let you know when there’s something concrete.”