West Ham United are leading the chase to sign Serie A-winning midfielder Stefano Sturaro, according to the Mail.
The Hammers are battling it out with Premier League rivals Newcastle and Leicester for the Juventus man, but the Mail’s report states that the London Stadium is the player’s preferred destination.
The Italian champions are trying to shift some deadwood in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo’s mega money move from Real Madrid, with Sturaro valued at around £18million.
That price tag has deterred interest from abroad, with the Premier League now understood to be the 25-year-old’s likeliest destination.
OPINION
The Hammers have long been linked with a move for the Italy international, and are said to be leading the chase for him as result. Sturaro does fill an area of need for the club, with Manuel Pellegrini eager to add a holding midfielder capable of breaking up opposition attacks. Time is running out for this deal to be done, and West Ham have been linked with a similar – although worse – player in Fiorentina’s Carlos Sanchez. There’s no guarantee that this deal gets done, so Hammers fans should avoid getting their hopes up too much. The 25-year-old is a fine player, though, a terrific passer of the ball who works extremely hard for his team. Anytime you can bring in a player from a club like Juventus it’s going to be a fairly big deal, and the East London outfit should push as hard as they can to get this move done before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
