West Ham United are closing in on the capture of Jack Wilshere, according to sources from Sky. The former Arsenal midfielder is currently a free-agent after officially leaving the club following the end of his contract on Saturday. Sources believe that the English international is now on the verge of joining West Ham amid interest from Fenerbahce.
Wilshere confirmed his departure from Arsenal earlier last month through a social media post on Instagram thus ending his long 10-year professional stint with the North-London giants. Even though during his time at Emirates, the 26-year-old went out on loan to Bolton and Bournemouth.
His loan move to Bournemouth, in particular, gave clear signs of his inevitable departure sooner rather than later. During his time with Arsenal, Wilshere made almost 200 competitive appearances but has missed a chunk of matches with injuries marring his progress at the Emirates. Once regarded as one of England’s most promising talents, Wilshere hasn’t been able to realise his full potential.
But that being said, the 26-year-old showed a lot of promise during his performances with Arsenal last season. Although his omission from the England squad for the ongoing World Cup was a huge blow for him, on an individual level, it goes without saying that the former Arsenal midfielder will be raring to get back to the top of his game next season.
West Ham, on the other hand, have struggled a lot in recent seasons. Although their wobbly defence has been a cause for concern for fans, it’s the midfield department where the main problems originate. The likes of Mark Noble, Chiekhou Kouyate have failed to perform at the top level last season with key players such as Pedro Obiang missing a chunk of the campaign due to the injury.
Therefore, newly appointed manager Manuel Pellegrini will be keen to strengthen his side’s midfield this summer and thus, Jack Wilshere is indeed a viable target. His ability to carve the opposition defence open through some neat game-play in the final third is exactly what West Ham were lacking in the past couple of seasons, especially with Manuel Lanzini remaining on the sidelines.
A move to the London Stadium could be a logical decision as he aims to wrong his critics. And at the age of 26, Wilshere will be looking to get regular game time and the Hammers can definitely provide that. But, it remains to be seen whether Wilshere can really manage to reignite the spark which made critics bill him as England’s next superstar in the initial years of his career.
