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West Ham United are still the favourites to sign AZ Alkmaar striker Troy Parrott. The Hammers fanbase was in meltdown last night as a rumour circulated that Troy Parrott was closing in on a move to Spanish side Real Betis. Fans thought we had missed out on our number-one striker target because we had taken too long. We took our time with the Engels deal, and it has paid off, but fans were worried we had missed out on Parrott. But that’s not the case; Real Betis are not close to signing Parrott; in fact, they haven’t even made an offer. On the Parrott situation, insider ExWHUEmployee said: “Troy Parrott deal is still very much on despite rumours of Real Betis being on the brink of signing him.” This is brilliant news, because if Betis were in for him, he probably would have chosen them over us. They challenge at the top of LaLiga every year, they’re in the Champions League, and he could play with players like Isco and Pablo Fornals. However, despite us being in the second tier and them playing in the UCL, Betis likely doesn’t have the kind of money we have to take a risk on a player that expensive and unproven at the top level. It seems like we’re the only team seriously in for Parrott, and a deal could happen for a fee of around £25 million. The Irishman has been left out of the AZ squad for this weekend with a ‘knock’, but I think we know what that really means. It’s too late to get him in for Burnley now, but let’s hope Parrott is a Hammer in time for the Charlton game next Saturday.