Could West Ham be holding all the aces in pursuit of Real Madrid youngster?
Real Madrid are reportedly open to offers for youngster Mateo Kovacic. West Ham should be all over such a deal.
Ever since Payet has left, Lanzini has struggled to bear all of the creative responsibility. He has done well, but West Ham need alternatives for when the Argentine isn’t on form. With Real Madrid considering selling Kovacic for around 22m, they should be very interested.
With Tottenham rumoured to be in pursuit of the youngster, it seems hopeless. But if the board really want their man, then they should use all the tools at their disposal to convince the Croatian midfielder to move to East London rather than to the North of the capital.
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Transfer subtleties
When competing with a club that are much higher in the league over a transfer, it seems like a lost cause. On the face of it, its hard to imagine trading Champions League for mid table Premier League fighting. But the board must try to get some of these players interested.
As such they should highlight the fact that if Kovacic is to head to White Heart Lane, how often will he play? With Eriksen, Alli, Lamela and Son all in the squad (and potentially Barkley or Sigurdsson) it seems as though gametime for attacking midfielders in the squad would be hard to come by. He’d have no such issue with the Hammers.
Gametime is a huge draw for youngsters still pushing for their peak, but that’s not all West Ham have. With Slaven Bilic as their manager, they should be able to have extra sway on Croatian talent. He is hugely respected as a footballing figure in the country, and could play a vital part here.
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And lets not forget genuine ball playing talent at the London Stadium is in short supply. Only Manuel Lanzini has genuine on the ball flair and guile. Kovacic could come in and change the way the side moves forward. He might be unproven in the Premier League, but he’s a huge talent waiting to be snapped up.