• The 24-year-old Chilean could have a medical by the weekend• First of three Serie A players targeted by Gianfranco ZolaWest Ham United hope to agree terms in the next 48 hours for the loan signing of the Chile midfielder Luis Jiménez. The club's chief executive, Scott Duxbury, and technical director, Gianluca Nani, flew to Milan over the weekend with the intention of securing a deal with Internazionale for the 24-year-old.Jiménez has been a bit-part player since signing for the Italian champions last summer and is keen to leave to find first-team football. The Serie A sides Fiorentina and Parma are also keen on the attacking midfielder but, having spent the bulk of his career in Italy, primarily at Ternana and on loan at Fiorentina and Lazio, he wants to move to another country and sees West Ham as an ideal location.West Ham secured a work permit for Jiménez on Friday, having been instructed by their manager, Gianfranco Zola, to sign him before rival bidders had a chance to put a deal in place. The club hope to agree terms with both Inter and the player's representatives shortly. His medical could take place before the weekend.Should all go to plan, West Ham will sign Jiménez – who has been capped 19 times by his country – on a season's loan in the hope of concluding a permanent deal next summer. The club expect to pay Inter in the region of £7m should they decide to keep him.West Ham hope Jiménez will be the first of three attack-minded signings within the next month or so. Nani will remain in Italy this week in the hope of securing another Serie A player targeted by Zola before linking up with his compatriot to finalise plans for a third player.All three moves are likely to be initial loan deals. That is partly because Zola deems such deals as risk-free – and, in the case with the defender Herita Ilunga last season, successful – and partly because the club's new owners, CB Holding, are not in a position to dedicate large amounts of money to transfers. The club, however, remain committed to significantly strengthening their hand this summer in the hope of improving on last season's ninth-place finish.West Ham UnitedPremier LeagueInternazionaleFiorentinaLazioguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Comments