West Ham United have been linked with a move for several players following the end of the 2018-19 season, and have even confirmed the signing of Spanish attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals.
The Hammers have now been linked with a move for French defensive midfielder Maxime Gonalons, who is currently with Italian side AS Roma.
According to the Express, the London club could complete the signing of the Frenchman and brush off competition from Premier League rivals Everton.
Gonalons joined Roma from French side Lyon in 2017, but has struggled to become an important player for the team. He was subsequently loaned out to Spanish side Sevilla last season.
The Frenchman played 13 times for Sevilla in the 2018-19 season and couldn’t secure a first-team place in the Spanish club, as his season was interrupted by injuries.
The experienced Frenchman played 333 games for Lyon between 2009 and 2017, while he has also represented the French national team 8 times.
The 30-year-old has two years remaining on his current contract at Roma. We take a look at the pros and cons of signing Gonalons.
Pros
Gonalons is a tall and physical presence in the midfield of the pitch, who can win headers in both boxes and dominate in the air.
The defensive midfielder is a lively player deep in midfield who likes to keep the ball ticking from his deeper role with his neat and short passing.
The Frenchman could bring a lot of experience and defensive qualities to the West Ham midfield, and offer manager Manuel Pellegrini another option to Declan Rice in the defensive midfield role, or even be a replacement for Rice if the Englishman leaves the club, though that is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Cons
While he is a defensive midfielder, Gonalons is not a good tackler of the ball and often makes many fouls that does not help his team.
Gonalons has also had several injuries in his one-year loan spell at Sevilla and it remains to be seen if he can be injury-free.
The Hammers will not want to sign a player, who recently turned 30, and is often injured.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side already have two experienced central midfielders in Mark Noble and Jack Wilshere, and it may not be a wise decision to sign another midfielder who is over 30 years of age and injury prone.
