West Ham swoop for Livorno star Alessandro Diamanti

Gianfranco Zola has flown out to Italy to complete a deal for Livorno striker Alessandro Diamanti.

And the Hammers boss is confident that Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh is moving to Upton Park.

Zola is desperate to bring in support for Carlton Cole with Dean Ashton's ankle injury causing grave concern.

It was believed yesterday that, following an interview given by Chamakh over the weekend, there was no chance whatsoever of the marksman joining West Ham.

But last night Hammers chiefs remained adamant that not only was a deal in place - they have agreed a £7million fee with Bordeaux - but also that Chamakh is still very keen to join them.

The only stumbling block remains West Ham's ability to offload defender James Collins to fund the deal with Stoke and Aston Villa still front runners.

Indeed Villa Martin O'Neill is believed to have been at Upton Park on Sunday to see the centre-back play in West Ham's 2-1 defeat to Spurs.

Diamanti, meanwhile, is so highly thought of at Upton Park that he is seen as a 'cross between Paolo Di Canio and Zola himself'.

Hammers chiefs have been monitoring his progress for even longer than they have been watching Chamakh.

They believe Upton Park fans will take to the eccentric 26-year-old just as they took Di Canio to his hearts because of his skill and outlandish behaviour in equal measure.

Diamanti's 17 goals helped Livorno return to the top division of Italian football last season. The player's performances even drew interest from Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.

Although Mourinho has since reinforced his front line by signing Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona, Diamanti still interests a clutch of Italian clubs that provide the biggest competition to West Ham, which is why Zola has flown out to his homeland to tie up the deal.

In fact, it is believed that Livorno are so resigned to losing Diamanti that they have lined up David Beckham's LA Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan as a replacement.

Meanwhile it is understood West Ham are willing to listen to offers for Ugandan forward Savio with doubts about his ability to cope with the physical nature of Premier League football.

It was widely believed yesterday that the east Londoners have agreed a deal with Lazio for striker Goran Pandev but the club's primary focus is on tying up deals for Chamakh and Diamanti.