West Ham are in hot pursuit of two defenders as they step up plans to overhaul their back line this summer, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster claim on their website the Premier League club are in talks to sign Italian Armando Izzo from Genoa even though he has four years remaining on his contract.
Sky report West Ham are also keen on Barcelona defender Marlon Santos, with the Mail reporting that a bid of £13million is already on the table.
OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini has promised he will set up West Ham to entertain next season and is on the lookout for new attacking players, but the new manager is not stupid enough to ignore the fact that the club had the joint-worst defence in the Premier League along with Stoke in 2017-18, conceding 68 goals in 38 matches. Key to any improvement is a rock solid centre-back or two, and West Ham certainly need upgrades in this position. Are Izzo and Santos the answers? There are question marks over Izzo, 26, whose track record in the demanding Serie A is decent, although he missed most of the second half of the recent season with injury and signed a new contract only last October. Santos, by contrast, had a brilliant campaign while on loan at Nice and is on the target list of a number of Premier League clubs, including Leicester City. Will Barcelona cash in on the 22-year-old? That seems possible given the calibre of centre-backs blocking his path at Camp Nou, led by star duo Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti.
