OPINION
West Ham must halt their reported pursuit of Sevilla midfielder Franco Vazquez and instead pursue Queens Park Ranger’s Luke Freeman.
Spanish publication Marca stated on Thursday that the Hammers had made a move to sign the 29-year-old and that the two clubs were now in negotiations about a possible deal for the player.
While the Italian attacking midfielder has plenty of top-flight experience having played in Serie A and La Liga during his career, his likely price tag is set to see him not be a signing that would provide the club with good value.
According to Marca Sevilla would consider selling the player for half of his 40 million euros (£35.3million) release clause but that would still mean he would cost in the region of 20 million euros (£17.6million).
Given his age and that he has never played in England’s top division before, the Hammers should meet their need for a new attacking midfielder by picking up one of the stars of the Championship last season.
Freeman who stands at 5ft 7in tall (Transfermarkt) was a glorified assist machine for QPR in their latest campaign as he registered 13 assists in 45 league outings.
This resulted in him finishing third in the league’s assist charts with only a Wolves player and Aston Villa ace ahead of him.
When you considering that Freeman was playing for a QPR side that regularly struggled to deliver their best performances last season, they ended up finishing a disappointing 16th, he could have ended with many more assists with more in-form teammates.
In fact the 26-year-old created a 100 chances in the Championship last season (Source: Squawka) due to his ability to play through balls that cut open the opposition’s defence.
The Hammers would really benefit from a creative attacking midfielder capable of putting chances on a player for his teammates following the injury to Manuel Lanzini and Freeman would be capable of doing that.
The assist machine never managed to make a first-team appearances for Arsenal when he was at the club, as he rose through their academy, but given an opportunity he would do well in the Premier League.
Also as QPR only paid £300,000, as reported by Sky Sports, to sign him from Bristol City in January 2017 then the player’s potential price tag this summer could be very affordable.
By taking a gamble on Freeman, who hasn’t got top-flight experience, the Hammers could save some money to spend elsewhere while also welcoming a very promising talent to the club.
Therefore the Hammers must halt their pursuit of Vazquez and chase the services of Freeman instead.
