OPINION
West Ham must hijack Crystal Palace’s £8.9million bid for defensive midfielder Maxime Gonalons as he would add the bite to back up the club’s bark next season.
Sky Sports reported that according to Sky in Italy Roy Hodgson’s side had identified AS Roma’s midfielder as the ideal replacement for Yohan Cabaye who departed the club earlier in the summer when his contract ended.
While Palace have already made their interest in Gonalons concrete there is still time for a club to hijack the potential deal as this is actually something Everton are currently looking to do according to the London Evening Standard.
However it’s the Hammers who must get involved and successfully tear the player away from AS Roma as the defensive midfielder is exactly what Manuel Pellegrini’s side are currently lacking.
The 29-year-old may have only made 16 appearances for his Italian side last season but the midfielder would successfully add an extra layer of protection to the Hammers’ defence that was regularly exposed last season.
Gonalons regularly wins aerial duels due to his dominance in the air, is a tough tackler, fantastically shields the ball from his opponents and is also always willing to put his body on the line.
The AS Roma player when actually given an opportunity to play is regularly using his body to block his opponent’s shots and passes in order to stop his side conceding.
West Ham’s midfield has been significantly boosted this summer with some fantastic attack-minded talents in the form of Felipe Anderson, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko arriving but they still lack a player willing to do the dirty work in midfield that will get results over the line.
This is especially the case when you consider that the Hammers are currently considering bids for current defensive midfielders Pedro Obiang, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, and Cheikhou Kouyate, as stated by WIWSport.
While Kouyate and Obiang may yet still stay at the club, Gonalons is still a player the club need to sign as he is a better option then both of then when it comes to the role of defensive midfielder.
Therefore the Hammers must swiftly hijack Crystal Palace’s already tabled bid for the AS Roma midfielder in order to welcome the player who will give Pellegrini’s side the bite needed to back up their bark.
