{"id":672274,"date":"2026-01-04T01:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/672274\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T01:03:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:03:26","slug":"taty-castellanos-pictured-at-airport-as-winner-declared-in-west-ham-and-leeds-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/672274\/","title":{"rendered":"Taty Castellanos pictured at airport as winner declared in West Ham and Leeds battle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Valentin Castellanos has been pictured at an airport reportedly bound for the Premier League after a decisive twist in the transfer battle between West Ham and Leeds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

West Ham<\/a> face a mountain to climb to stay in the Premier League<\/a> this season and Leeds are a big reason for it.<\/p>\n

In the summer Paul Merson warned West Ham that Leeds would finish above them<\/a>, predicting relegation for the east Londoners.<\/p>\n

That now looks unerringly accurate unless the Hammers can turn their dismal season around and Leeds start to lose their way after a brilliant run of results.<\/p>\n

Leeds are effectively eight points clear of the Irons thanks to their superior goal difference.<\/p>\n

Castellanos at centre of battle between West Ham and Leeds<\/p>\n

That leaves West Ham in the bottom three with the upcoming run of fixtures vital.<\/p>\n

With Forest losing at Villa, West Ham know they can close to within a point of Sean Dyche\u2019s side and potentially within four of Leeds if they beat Wolves.<\/p>\n

How do you PREDICT Pablo will get on at West Ham? <\/p>\n

Is he the man to break the striker curse?<\/p>\n

\"Pablo <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

The January transfer window will play a huge part in whether West Ham can turn their campaign around in the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

West Ham seem to mean business, breaking old habits by making a signing within the first 24 hours of the window.<\/p>\n

Brazilian striker Pablo has arrived in a \u00a320m deal.<\/p>\n

The Hammers are far from done there, though.<\/p>\n

\"ValentinPhoto by Marco Rosi \u2013 SS Lazio\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

West Ham are looking to sign former Leeds defender Charlie Cresswell, Fulham winger Adama Traore and Lazio striker Valentin \u2018Taty\u2019 Castellanos<\/a> too.<\/p>\n

The problem for Nuno Espirito Santo<\/a> is that Leeds United also want Castellanos.<\/p>\n

In fact West Ham were hit by a Leeds hijack attempt for Castellanos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And with the Elland Road outfit sitting in the relative comfort of 16th, that would concern the Hammers.<\/p>\n

Now \u2018Taty\u2019 Castellanos has been pictured at the airport as a winner is declared in the battle between West Ham and Leeds for his signature.<\/p>\n

Castellanos pictured at airport as winner declared<\/p>\n

Lazio\u2019s 27-year-old Argentine forward Castellanos \u2013 known as Taty \u2013 was set to sign for the Hammers in a \u00a327 million move.<\/p>\n

Likened to former Hammers favourite Marko Arnautovic, Castellanos is an all-rounder known for contributing as many assists as he does goals.<\/p>\n

How would you FEEL if West Ham signed Raheem Sterling? \ud83e\udd14 <\/p>\n

Another Jesse Lingard? Or another over-the-hill flop?<\/p>\n

\"Raheem <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

He is also highly regarded for his relentless pressing from the front, a key feature of Leeds\u2019 game which West Ham sorely lack.<\/p>\n

A host of top Italian journalists have been reporting that West Ham\u2019s deal for was progressing quickly.<\/p>\n

But a transfer specialist then claimed Leeds were showing strong interest in bringing Castellanos to Elland Road instead.<\/p>\n

Now the player has chosen his next move and a picture has emerged showing he is on his way imminently.<\/p>\n

The image has sent speculation into overdrive among supporters, with many taking it as a clear indication of how the short-lived tug-of-war for the striker has been resolved.<\/p>\n

\"ValentinPhoto by Marco Iacobucci\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Castellanos has been pictured during his final moments in Italy after Just Lazio captured the 27-year-old Argentine striker was spotted at the airport.<\/p>\n

And it is claimed he was there about to board a flight to London to sign for West Ham rather than Leeds.<\/p>\n

Much has been made of the reported \u00a327m fee West Ham will be paying for Castellanos given his distinctly average goalscoring record.<\/p>\n

West Ham signing number two on his way to London<\/p>\n

The jury will obviously be out on whether he can step up to Premier League level.<\/p>\n

But as Hammers News has stated on several occasions, West Ham have rarely been a good enough side \u2013 or set up in a fashion \u2013 that can provide chances for an out-and-out penalty box striker.<\/p>\n

All-rounder forwards like Marko Arnautovic and Michail Antonio, who press, fight and work hard, have always been far more successful in the claret and blue.<\/p>\n

So West Ham fans will give Castellanos the benefit of the doubt, as they will Pablo too. <\/p>\n

Leeds meanwhile will have to hope they can continue relying on Dominic Calvert-Lewin to remain fit and in form.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter <\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Valentin Castellanos has been pictured at an airport reportedly bound for the Premier League after a decisive twist…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,393,4884,1860,101,16,15,204586],"class_list":{"0":"post-672274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leeds","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-leeds","12":"tag-premier-league","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-valentin-castellanos"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115834139815575790","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}