West Ham ready £16m offer for Liverpool winger after Antonio snub

West Ham are believed to readying a big money move for out of favour Liverpool winger Lazar Markovic, who is currently on loan at Hull, The Sun reports.

The Hammers are thought to be on the search for alternatives in wide areas after Michail Antonio rejected the offer of a new contract at the club. With talks over an extension reportedly stalling, the Londoners are preparing a notable offer for Serbian international Markovic.

The 23-year old joined Liverpool in the summer of 2014 but has started just 11 of 19 league appearances for the club, loaned out to Fenerbahce and Sporting CP but failing to make a significant impact with either. The winger has made a promising start to life at Hull under compatriot Marco Silva, averaging 2 dribbles per game and chipping in with 2.2 tackles on average, but an offer that would meet Liverpool’s asking price would still represent a significant gamble.

West Ham lost Dimitri Payet in January and summer signings Sofiane Feghouli and Andre Ayew have endured difficult starts to their Hammers careers, leaving Slaven Bilic still searching for further options. Robert Snodgrass arrived from Hull in January but if Antonio were to be prized away his pace would be missed by the club, and Markovic can certainly offer that.

However, with just one league goal across 26 appearances out on loan over the last two seasons, would he really be worth the reported fee?