OPINION
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini is quite clearly looking to transform his defence this summer, which is hugely understandable considering the Hammers’ horrific record last season.
Under Slaven Bilic and David Moyes the Irons conceded a joint league-high 68 goals across their 38 Premier League games, and that must change next time round if they want to find success under the Chilean.
The club’s first three signings of the window show that Pellegrini is well aware of the need to revamp his back line, with Lukasz Fabianski to provide an experienced presence in goal, while Issa Diop and Ryan Fredericks are to bring pace and power in the middle and on the flanks.
And it does not look like the Hammers will stop there, with the club linked with moves for Swansea defender Alfie Mawson and West Bromwich Albion enforcer Craig Dawson.
There is now another name in the mix, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that the Irons are interested in a move for Genoa centre-back Armanda Izzo.
As translated by Sport Witness, the Italian newspaper claim that Fiorentina are also in the hunt for the 26-year-old, who made just 16 appearances last term.
As previously reported by Talksport, the Hammers could snap up the Italian enforcer for a cut-price fee of £8.75million, which is brilliant value for money in today’s market.
However, despite this decent deal potentially being on the table, the Hammers must drop their interest in Izzo immediately.
The 26-year-old played just 16 times last season due to both injury and suspension, with the defender handed an 18-month ban for match-fixing (it was later reduced to six months).
There is little at all to suggest that he could hack it in the Premier League anyway, with him failing to make an impact at hometown side Napoli before playing in Serie B and then moving to mid-table Genoa.
West Ham need players who are guaranteed to hack it at Premier League level, and Izzo is most certainly not one of those figures.
Add into that his history of match-fixing and injury problems and you have a calamity waiting to happen, and the club must spend their money more wisely elsewhere this summer.
