West Ham United are reportedly looking to sign Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez ahead of the 2020-21 Premier League season.
The Hammers, who secured their top-flight status in the final few matchdays of the Premier League, have a decent squad, but will have to make a few smart additions to ensure they avoid another relegation scrap next season.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (Via Transfer Market Web), West Ham United want to sign the 24-year-old midfielder, who only moved to the Italian club last year.
The Hammers will have to shell out a whopping €36 million for the Uruguayan midfielder. West Ham will compete with fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace, who are also reportedly interested in signing him, and Serie A sides Napoli, Roma, and Inter Milan for Nandez.
Nandez played 37 times in all competitions for Cagliari in the 2019-20 season, scoring twice and making four assists. His current contract with the club expires in 2024.
Nahitan Nandez to West Ham – A wise move by the club?
Nahitan Nandez is a hard-working and box to box midfielder, with plenty of energy and verve.
The Uruguayan is good on the ball, and drives forward with it at every opportunity. He also contributes defensively with his tackling. Nandez averaged 1.7 tackles in Serie A in the 2019-20 season, which is a decent number for a central midfielder.
(Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)
West Ham United manager David Moyes needs to add players smartly, in important positions, to improve his squad for next season. The former Manchester United manager needs to sign a right-back, to replace Pablo Zabaleta, a striker who can score goals and provide competition to Sebastien Haller, as well as a central midfielder.
But, Nandez may not be the right signing for the Hammers. The club completed two big-money moves in the summer of 2019, signing midfielder Pablo Fornals for £24 million and Sebastien Haller for around £45 million.
Neither has consistently impressed for the club in their debut season, despite arriving with a lot of promise. The Hammers should not make the same mistake of buying players from foreign leagues for big money, who may not settle in or take time to do so in the Premier League.
West Ham side have already secured the signing of Tomas Soucek on a permanent deal, which is a good bit of business, after his successful loan spell. The Hammers should look to sign a player from the Premier League or the Championship ahead of next season rather than spend big-money on a player from a foreign league, and increase the acclimatisation period.
€36 million is also quite a lot of money for Nandez. The club have more pressing problematic areas to resolve at the club – as pointed out earlier — and should focus on improving those first.
Stats via Whoscored