West Ham expect battle for Gudjohnsen

Gudjohnsen is likely to leave Barcelona this summer (GETTY IMAGES)

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola knows he faces stiff competition to sign Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen but remains determined to bolster his attacking options before the start of the season.

Gudjohnsen has expressed a desire to leave the Nou Camp due to a lack of first-team football and the 30-year-old will not be short of potential suitors.

The Hammers will be hoping for some positive news in the transfer market after they were dealt a blow yesterday when Luis Boa Morte suffered a knee injury against Tottenham in the Barclays Asia Trophy which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the year.

Zola is all too aware he needs to increase his attacking options following a rather placid display at Beijing Workers' Stadium, where they lost 1-0 to Spurs following Jermain Defoe's 75th-minute strike.

And the Italian reiterated his desire to bring former Chelsea forward Gudjohnsen to the club.

"Gudjohnsen is one of the players that has been linked with West Ham," he said. "He is one of those players that not only West Ham would be interested in.

"We know we need to be more effective going forward and so we are looking for a striker.

"We don't know who it will be but hopefully someone will come."

Boa Morte's injury is undoubtedly a setback to the Hammers' aspirations this coming season as they look to improve on their ninth-place finish last term.

The Portugal international was taken to hospital after being carried off on a strecher just 14 minutes into yesterday's game, and scans confirmed he had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

"Luis is still here with us (in Beijing) and will stay with us until the end and come back to England before visiting some specialists in London," said Zola.

"The problem looks like it is confirmed to his right knee and we are talking about cruciate ligaments but we will see when we get back to London.

"He is a great boy, he never stopped smiling since yesterday. We all had long faces when we went to see him and I think he was only one smiling. It is a big, big loss for us."

Despite the blow, Zola is confident West Ham still have a good season ahead of them, highlighting that a strong team spirit at the club will carry them through.

"We have a good atmosphere in the club, we have some experienced players and they are really good for the others," he added.

"I have total confidence in West Ham. There is a positive atmosphere and everyone is working well so I am positive it is going to be a good year."