According to a recent report by Mirror, West Ham United are keen to lure Domagoj Vida from Besiktas to the London Stadium this summer. The report further states that the Turkish outfit have rejected a bid of £20million from the Premier League outfit and are holding out for between £22million and £23million to let Vida leave the Vodafone Park.
West Ham United are breathing a new life under the tutelage of Manuel Pellegrini. They were in a stuttering form last season and the Chilean was signed earlier this summer to navigate the club in the right direction. Pellegrini has been really busy in getting the right personnel on board to enhance the credentials of his side during the 2018-19 season.
Felipe Anderson, Issa Diop, Andriy Yarmolenko, Lukasz Fabianski, Fabian Balbuena, Jack Wilshere and Ryan Fredericks have already been roped in to tighten the areas which were required to be fixed. To inject more resilience at the back, Pellegrini has apparently put Vida on his wish-list. The Croatian international emerged through the youth ranks of Osijek and was then elevated to their senior side.
He has plied his trade for Bayer Leverkusen, Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kyiv and in the January transfer window earlier this year, he switched to Besiktas. In 13 appearances for the Black Eagles in the Super Lig, Vida scored 1 goal. Further, he mustered 1 tackle, 1.3 interceptions, 1.8 clearances and 0.6 blocks per game on an average. He represented his national side, Croatia, in the World Cup where his side finished as the runners-up, and he played a starring role in the tournament.
His versatility of being capable of operating as a centre-back as well as a right-back is arguably one of his strongest suits. He is a strong player in terms of physicality and is commendable in the air. He carries the ball out from the back and he has carved his name as an astute passer of the ball. Besides, he is a tough tackler and has volumes of experience.
Apart from Pellegrini’s camp, Vida has also been linked to Liverpool and Everton and it would be intriguing to see which club has the last laugh. Winston Reid suffered another injury last week and is set for a surgery, which implies that he would be out for a long period of time. The Irons do need a leader at the back and Vida, owing to his pedigree, could be the one to cater to this particular need.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored