West Ham have launched a £9million double raid for Reading's Shane Long and Southampton's Jason Puncheon.
This morning's Guardian reports that the Hammers have made an £8million bid - which equates to £5million up front plus add-ons - for Reading's Irish international striker Shane Long, who has just 12 months of his current contract remaining.Meanwhile the Hammers are also reported to have placed a bid in the region of £750,000 for Southampton winger Puncheon, who spent part of last season on loan at Millwall.
Long, 24, began his career with Cork City but was snapped up by Reading in 2005 since when he has scored 44 goals in 173 appearances (79 of which came from the bench).
But it was for his goalscoring exploits last season (2010/11) that a number of clubs became interested in acquiring his services, with the 21-times capped international scoring a most impressive 28 goals in 60 appearances.
Croydon-born wide-man Puncheon, 25, began his career with Wimbledon before dropping out of league football to feature for Fisher Athletic and Lewes. After relatively quiet spells at both Barnet and Plymouth he was snapped up by Southampton where he became a first team regular under Alan Pardew.
However erratic form saw him lose his place to 17-year-old starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and in January of this year Puncheon spent a month on loan at Millwall, before joining Premier League Blackpool for the second half of the season.
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