Callum Wilson’s contract with West Ham officially expires today (June 30), and all eyes are on where the 34-year-old will go next, or whether he will stay at the London Stadium ahead of the Hammers’ Championship comeback.

The veteran frontman hasn’t played in the second division since his 20-goal season with Bournemouth in 2014/15, and it was widely assumed when the season ended that he wouldn’t be returning anytime soon.

However, Wilson was not placed on West Ham’s retained list this summer, despite Claret and Hugh reporting on June 24 that the Hammers were in negotiations with him about potentially extending his contract.

The 34-year-old has been linked with moves to all three recently promoted Premier League clubs. According to the Claret and Hugh article, Hull City and Wilson’s hometown club Coventry City are interested, while the East Anglian Daily Times reports that Ipswich Town is as well.

If there were only three previous second-tier clubs interested in him, West Ham might have had a chance to keep him ahead of their forthcoming Championship season, but it doesn’t appear like they are the only top-flight clubs interested.

Brentford are in negotiations with Callum Wilson.

According to The Athletic’s Transfer Deal Sheet for Tuesday, Brentford are the latest Premier League club to be interested in extending Wilson’s Premier League stay, with Keith Andrews’ side in negotiations with the 34-year-old about coming as a free agent.

Wilson only started 11 Premier League games last season, with the majority of his outings at West Ham coming from the bench. Nonetheless, he managed to score seven goals, including crucial late victories against Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.

The Bees are coming off a completely successful campaign in Andrews’ first season at the Gtech Community Stadium, but they may have been slightly disappointed after a run of only one win in their final ten games saw them miss out on their first European campaign in history.

Despite Igor Thiago’s 22-goal season, Brentford are searching for new goal scorers to help carry the pressure and propel them to a top-seven/eight finish. On a free transfer, Wilson is undoubtedly one of the best seasoned frontmen who can still contribute at a high level.

The Bees would be able to provide the 34-year-old with the opportunity to prolong his career in a competitive Premier League team, allowing him to potentially reach 100 English top-flight goals, something West Ham will be unable to do at the London Stadium next season.

West Ham appear to be waging a losing battle to keep Callum Wilson this summer.

There’s no doubt Wilson could be a top frontman in the Championship next season, but he’d also be a useful bench player for the bulk of top-flight clubs.

If West Ham can keep the 34-year-old for next season, not only will Nuno Espirito Santo have one fewer guy to replace in his squad, but the veteran is likely to add the goals needed to lift them.

However, as Wilson enters the twilight of his career, he may see the prospect of becoming the 36th person to join the Premier League’s 100 clubs next season as a greater prise than winning a Championship title, even if he would be given more minutes at a second-tier club than Brentford.

You can’t blame West Ham for attempting to keep him, and it demonstrates their desire to keep as many of their top-flight players as possible ahead of their return to the second tier, but it appears like this is a contract struggle that they are unlikely to win.