West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is eyeing Italy Antonio Cassano as the man to drag the Hammers out of trouble, reports the Daily Mail. The Hammers have been told that the Sampdoria striker is out of their price range, but Zola will not give up after seeing his side score just 11 goals in nine games.

Cassano has a buyout clause of £14.5million and West Ham would need to secure new investment to launch a concrete bid for the 27-year-old.

Zola hoped the fighting spirit showed by his team's comeback to get a 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday will attract new money into Upton Park.