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West Ham to swoop for cut-price Super-Mario?

By Henry Tomlinson

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Joao Mario of West Ham United celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Southampton at London Stadium on March 31, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Joao Mario of West Ham United celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Southampton at London Stadium on March 31, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images) /
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Former West Ham loanee Joao Mario has been linked with a return to the East London side as the club look to try to bring in some ‘new‘ blood.

The Portuguese attacker spent six-months on loan at West Ham in 2018, playing thirteen games and scoring two goals. Mario’s best moment in a Claret and Blue shirt was a thumping goal in a famous 3-0 win against Southampton.

Many Hammer’s fans took a shine to Mario and wanted him signed on a permanent deal at the end of the 2017/2018 season. West Ham did have the option to make his deal permanent as they had agreed with Inter Milan a €40 million fee for Mario’s transfer.

Since the 27-year-old did not sign for the Hammers on a long-term basis in 2018, he returned to his parent club Inter Milan. Mario then spent the next season at the Italian side. The midfielder made twenty-two appearances for Internazionale, scoring one goal and assisting one other.

Mario’s return to Italy did not last, however, and in 2019 he found himself back out on loan, but this time in Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow. The forty-five time capped Portuguese international did not find success in Russia. Mario only managed eighteen appearances and a single goal for Lokomotiv.

TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 22: Joao Mario of Lokomotiv Moskva and Miralem Pjanic of Juventus compete for the ball during the UEFA Champions League group D match between Juventus and Lokomotiv Moskva at Juventus Arena on October 22, 2019, in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 22: Joao Mario of Lokomotiv Moskva and Miralem Pjanic of Juventus compete for the ball during the UEFA Champions League group D match between Juventus and Lokomotiv Moskva at Juventus Arena on October 22, 2019, in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images) /

David Moyes was the manager during Mario’s first stint at the club, and his ability to play anywhere in the midfield means he could be a convenient player to acquire. Still only 27-years-old, Mario still has time to recapture the early career form that saw him make his big-money move to Italy.

The benefit for West Ham is that Mario is clearly not wanted by his parent club. This means the Hammers would be able to make the transfer happen for significantly less than the €40 million deal from two years ago.

There are currently question marks over a few of the club’s current midfield options. Manuel Lanzini has not rediscovered his best form from before his ACL injury. Josh Cullen is still unproven in the Premier League, and Moyes has struggled to find Pablo Fornals best position.

With all these question marks over the current players, then a cut-price move for a known quantity like Mario could be a wise move by West Ham. Mario is valued at the low figure of €13 million on tranfsermarkt.com.

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West Ham will have to move fast as there are plenty of other clubs being linked with Mario. Newcastle, Leeds, Valencia, Real Betis, Galatasaray are all reportedly interested, whereas Portuguese side Benfica had been rumoured to be considering a €12 million bid for the former Hammer.

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