OPINION
West Ham must forget about signing Lyon’s Marcelo after learning his price and hijack Fulham’s pursuit of Chelsea defender Tomas Kalas.
The Hammers enquired about signing Lyon’s 31-year-old centre-back, as stated by Claret and Hugh, only to be told that the French giants wanted £17.7million for his services.
It is believed that the Hammers were willing to pay £11million in order to get him as Manuel Pellegrini wants to bring in another new-centre back to the club this summer.
Claret & Hugh’s report stated that the Premier League side were set to walk away from a deal for Marcelo and they shouldn’t look back as it’s the right decision given his price.
However with Pellegrini no doubt still determined to sign another centre-back, the club should look to welcome Kalas to the club as he will prove to be much cheaper than Marcelo.
The Daily Star reported on June 12th that the Hammers’ PL rivals Fulham were close to completing an £8m deal to sign Lucas Piazon and Kalas from the Blues.
This means that Kalas even when being signed along with another player would cost significantly cheaper than Marcelo if the Hammers pursued his services.
As the Cottagers are yet to confirm that a deal has been done for Kalas then the Hammers still have time to get him for themselves.
The 25-year-old enforcer has proven through loan spells in the Championship, with both Fulham and Middlesbrough, that he is ready for an opportunity to regular feature in the Premier League.
The powerful centre-back, who is a reliable no-nonsense defender, looked a level above when playing in England’s second-tier and after making 112 appearances in that division he needs a Premier League side to take a chance on him.
Kalas who stands at 6ft (Transfermarkt) is a intimidating presence due to his height and because he is solidly built with these attributes allowing him to be a dominant figure in any side’s back-line.
Kalas flourished during his 36 appearances for Fulham in the 2017/18 campaign and was one of the reason why they were able to win promotion to the Premier League.
Given his age, ability and potential bargain price then Pellegrini should look to hijack Fulham’s attempt to sign him instead of worrying about missing out on Marcelo as he could do a decent job at the London Stadium.
