West Ham reportedly want ‘Tevez 2.0’ – ‘exceptional’ £35m striker is just like Sergio Aguero
To Jonathan David and Armando ‘Hormiga’ Gonzalez we can now add Santiago Castro; West Ham United’s latest reported centre-forward target.
According to claims out of Italy, West Ham United have ‘knocked on the door’ at Bologna’s Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.
Juventus misfit Jonathan David is being linked again. Plus ça change. Reporters all the way across the pond in Mexico are reporting that the Hammers are keen on Chivas poacher Armando Gonzalez.
Santiago Castro has been called ‘Carlos Tevez 2.0’! 🇦🇷
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Santiago Castro is not only the most expensive of the three, though, but also arguably the most exciting. Especially when you factor in those Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Carlos Tevez comparisons.
West Ham United reportedly want Bologna striker Santiago Castro
Per Tuttosport, Bologna value Castro at around £35 million.
If such a fee is too rich for AC Milan’s blood – Niclas Fullkrug is hardly setting Serie A alight with a striker once again a priority at the San Siro – even relegation-threatened Premier League clubs such as West Ham and Nottingham Forest have the financial might to blow the seven-time European champions out the water.
Still only 21, Castro joined Bologna from Velez Sarsfield in his native Argentina in 2024. He was signed to fill a void created by Joshua Zirkzee’s departure to Manchester United.
From a stylistic perspective, though, you would struggle to find two more contrasting centre-forwards. Zirkzee is skilful, stylish but usually pretty powderpuff. Castro, with his prizefighter build, broad shoulders and power-packed ball-striking, is an entirely different breed.
His thumping finish during Bologna’s dramatic 4-3 Europa League victory away at Roma last week summed him up. Without thinking twice, Castro bludgeoned an instinctive shot into the top corner.
“Reminds me of the Aguero, Tevez, Lautaro types of Argentinian nines,” Ben Mattinson, who works as a scout at Bologna’s high-flying Serie A rivals Como, writes on X having previously called Castro an ‘instinctive finisher’.
“Small, powerful, physical, ball-striker, aerially strong, also has a good weight of pass.”
“We can easily find similarities between him and players like [Atletico Madrid’s former Manchester City forward] Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martínez, as Castro has the potential and skills to become as efficient as these two key players,” explain Total Football Analysis.
“All three of them are not very tall, yet very powerful physically and can easily resist defenders’ disturbance. The three players are also skilful enough, whether in terms of dribbling, agility, or creative and accurate passing, to make them very useful in the playmaking phase and especially in assist-making.
“Castro has all these traits, too, and has an advantage that can make him stand out in the near future; his shots from distance have been exceptional.”
Rank these four West Ham stars from best to worst! ⭐
Argentine sensation is yet to become a prolific Serie A goalscorer
Castro is not a particularly great goalscorer at this stage of his career. Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano has often been left exasperated by his frontman, with Castro netting only 15 times in 46 Serie A starts so far.
What he is, though, is a scorer of pretty great goals; as evidenced by this thunderbolt at the Stadio Olimpico a week ago.
In that sense, further comparisons can be drawn between Castro and a modern-day West Ham icon. Mattinson previously called Castro ‘Tevez 2.0’. It took Tevez 16 games to open his Premier League account for the Hammers in 2006/07. Then came seven in nine; the dam well and truly broken.
One suspects that Santiago Castro, who has the raw ingredients of a Michelin star centre-forward, could be about to enjoy a similar explosion.
“He’s a boy who, given how he trains, his hunger, and the desire he puts into training, can really become a top player,” Italiano told reporters in 2025.
“He’s showing the qualities of a true centre-forward, but he also adds great sacrifices for the team and often has the ability to make himself available for everyone. I’m convinced he has a bright future ahead of him.”
