27-year-old Argentinian forward Mauro Zárate is on the verge of completing his transfer to Sam Allardyce's West Ham after agreeing terms on a three-year contract and passing his medical. The striker, who also counts Inter Milan and Lazio among his former employers, was the top scorer in Argentina's Primera Division last season with 13 goals for Vélez Sársfield, and he will look to improve on his previous stint in English football, where he scored four goals in 14 appearances for Birmingham.
Zárate has confirmed the talks and spoken of his desire to return to the Premier League, saying "It's a new chance for me" and describing West Ham as "a fierce team". Allardyce is supposedly trying to bring a more entertaining style of football to Upton Park following complaints and even boos from fans despite the Hammers' 13th-place finish, seven points clear of the drop zone. The forward has proved a hit with fans at previous clubs, even joining Lazio's often volatile 'ultras' in the stands when not picked in the squad during his time at the club.
Zárate was a member of the Argentina side which won the 2007 under-20 World Cup alongside current Premier League regulars Sergio Agüero and Claudio Yacob, scoring twice in the tournament, but he has found his international career blocked by forwards such as Agüero, Lionel Messi and former West Ham favourite Carlos Tevez, who Zárate claims to have spoken to about the club before agreeing terms on his contract. His best season to date was 2008-09 with Lazio, where he scored 16 goals in 14 appearances to help his team win the Coppa Italia, scoring a superb individual effort in the final in a one-all draw with Sampdoria before converting his penalty in the resulting shoot-out.
West Ham fans will therefore be hoping that he can continue his recent good form to remind the world why he was once thought to be one of the most promising talents of a golden generation of attackers in Argentina. A skilful dribbler standing at only 5'8" tall, he will certainly add something new to a West Ham attack which has been overly reliant on the powerful centre forward play of Andy Carroll. With AC Milan youngster M'Baye Niang also reported to be on the club's radar, the Hammers could be forgiven for expecting a more exciting season to come.