West Ham United are preparing to re-enter the race for playmaker Franco Vazquez after missing out on the Sevilla man in the summer, according to Tutto Mercato Web.
The outlet claims that the Hammers are looking to make a January move for the 6ft 1in Argentine [Source: Transfermarkt] after Marca reported that the club were interested in the midfielder this summer.
Reliable West Ham news source Claret & Hugh states that manager Manuel Pellegrini wanted to bring the 29-year-old to the London Stadium, but that he ran out of time to get a deal done.
The Chilean prioritised defensive reinforcements, but that reportedly hasn’t quelled his interest in Vazquez, with a source telling Claret & Hugh that the club were targeting a midfielder come the winter transfer window.
OPINION
This is a deal that would make sense for the Hammers. The club were after Vazquez in the summer but weren’t able to finalise a transfer, so they’ve decided to go back in for him in January. They obviously rate the player highly otherwise they wouldn’t try so hard to bring him to the club. Vazquez is a talented playmaker who would give West Ham more tactical flexibility. His presence in the squad would allow the Chilean to tweak his 4-3-3 formation, perhaps going with a 4-2-3-1 with Vazquez playing in behind frontman Marko Arnautovic. Pellegrini is obviously a big fan of the Argentinian, who was handed his first international cap recently. Whether the club will be able to get a deal done or not remains to be seen, but it’s good that the team are still looking to invest despite their massive summer of spending.
