David Moyes should urge West Ham United to revive their interest in winter target Matias Vecino after Inter Milan reportedly placed the midfielder on the transfer list.
What’s the word?
According to Calciomercato, the Nerazzurri are striving to raise close to €30m (£25.5m) this summer by offloading some of Antonio Conte’s fringe options.
Among those expected to be made available for transfers are Arturo Vidal, Radja Nainggolan and Vecino, after each fell out of favour at the San Siro this season.
Should West Ham sign Inter’s Vecino?
Yes, he’d be perfect
No, he isn’t good enough
West Ham had explored a deal to sign Vecino in the recent winter window, with reports in Italy claiming that the Irons and Aston Villa each lodged offers for the Uruguayan.
A deal obviously failed to materialise, as Vecino – who last Sunday made his first appearance in eight months due to a knee injury sustained following the resumption of the 2019/20 campaign – remained in Milan.
He now faces an uncertain future that could once again spark interest at the London Stadium, while Aston Villa would not be expected to repursue the 29-year-old after signing Morgan Sanson from Olympique de Marseille for £16m in January.
Inter are touted to value Vecino at between €8-10m (£7-8.5m) as he will only have one year remaining on his contract come June, which would further save the Nerazzurri £80,000-per-week.
The San Siro natives are likely to push Cagliari Calcio to purchase Nainggolan as the Belgian is currently on loan at the Sardegna Arena, while Vidal is considered an ‘expensive reserve’ on a £174k-p/w deal but only starting 14 of his 23 Serie A outings this term.
Should West Ham sign Vecino?
With West Ham on the cusp of qualifying for a European competition, be it the Champions or Europa League, Moyes will need to bolster his squad in the off-season and pay particular attention to his midfield options.
Mark Noble may have recently agreed to sign a one-year contract extension to remain in east London for the 2021/22 season, but the veteran is currently Moyes’ only option to cover Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek in a natural position.
Vecino would be expected to provide a great level of cover in the Irons engine room and push Rice and Soucek to stay at the top of their games, with the 41-cap Uruguay international boasting 97 games for Inter Milan since his arrival in 2017.
He may also hit the market this summer as a Serie A winner with the Nerazzurri currently nine points clear at the top of the Italian top-flight table, and he can still play a key role in Conte’s title push following his long-awaited return from injury.
The former ACF Fiorentina enforcer is considered to be Inter’s wild card, as Vecino arrives when he is needed most to provide an important influence on games, while Conte is likely to have to manage the workloads of Nicolo Barela and Marcelo Brozovic.
Vecino showed last season that he can also offer an impact not too dissimilar to Rice, which sparked rumours that Chelsea were willing to pay £23m to sign him, before his knee surgery.
Over 20 Serie A appearances in the 2019/20 term, Vecino averaged 1.6 successful tackles, 1.3 clearances and 0.8 interceptions a game, along with providing 0.8 key passes and 1.1 shots for two assists and two goals, per SofaScore.
Rice is currently providing West Ham two successful tackles, 1.1 clearances and 1.9 interceptions a game over his 28 outings in the Premier League this season, along with 0.8 key passes and 0.8 shots for one assist and one goal to date.
The England international will only be expected to match, if not up, those numbers going forward, but Vecino would provide solid cover if Moyes revives West Ham’s interest at around £14.5m less than Chelsea were touted to pay last summer.
AND in other news, David Moyes has made a £25m forward his top target to fill Seb Haller’s void at West Ham…