Transfer story
Munir El Haddadi is the newest man on West Ham United’s transfer list. The youngster spent last season on loan at Valencia after an impressive breakthrough season for Barcelona a few years ago.
New Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has moved quickly in bringing back Gerard Deulofeu from Everton. This move doesn’t favour the uber-talented Munir who burst on to the scene back in 2014. He is the third youngest goalscorer in Barcelona’s history, after Lionel Messi and Bojan Krkic. The silky attacker though, has found game-time hard to come by with the South American trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar understandably occupying the front three positions. In order to gain more first team experience, Munir was sent out on loan to Valencia last season.
Munir would represent somewhat of a coup for Slaven Bilic’s team. West Ham recently completed the signing of Mexican Goal-machine Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen. Now, the West Ham fans are swooning over the prospect of seeing ‘Chicharito’ line-up with Munir and Andre Ayew in attack.
According to recent reports Barcelona have rejected an offer from Italian giants Roma for the attacker. The offer, though, was similar to the one Everton got for Deulofeu, a one-year loan deal with an option to buy. Spanish clubs Real Sociedad and Alaves are also rumoured to be interested in a swoop for the 21-year old.
Stats
Munir played 33 games for Valencia in La Liga for the 2016-17 season. He managed six goals and three assists. He also won two man-of-the-match awards for brilliant performances.
The Spaniard scored in the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla for his parent club Barcelona and also found the net against Barcelona for Valencia in an ill-tempered match at the Nou Camp. The game finished 4-2 to the Blaugrana giants.
What will Munir offer?
West Ham can pull this transfer off, and it will be one of the shrewdest pieces of business the London club have managed all summer, despite signing Hernandez. Expect them to match the asking price for Munir and go ahead with the deal.
Munir can play across the front three. His versatility becomes a key-factor as Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho do not look like they can last the whole season without succumbing to injury. At 21 years of age, he represents a long-term solution to cement a starting berth in a front three. There is also the possibility of him linking up with Manuel Lanzini, who likes having quick players that can beat the defensive line or get into good positions.