West Ham left-back Arthur Masuaku is likely to leave the club in the summer, according to Sport 24.
The Greek news outlet claim the 25-year-old is a player thought to be exiting the Hammers in the summer despite his £40,000-a-week contract (Source: Spotrac) not expiring until 2020.
Sport 24 claim that due to Masuaku likely staying throughout the January window, the Hammers are probably not going to launch a move for Olympiakos left-back Leonardo Koutris until the summer.
It is believed that according to Sport 24’s report the 24-year-old defender tops the Hammers list when it comes to a potential replacement for Masuaku.
The Daily Mirror previously reported in November that the London club were plotting a £5million move to sign Koutris in the winter window.
OPINION
It’s hard to believe this report for multiple reasons. Masuaku may have struggled for form this season despite making plenty of appearances but it’s hard to see him heading out the exit door just yet. The 25-year-old has featured 18 times this season and no longer seems to be Manuel Pellegrini’s first choice when it comes to the position of left-back. That honour now falls to Aaron Cresswell instead who looks more defensively sound. However you still feel that Masuaku could do a job for the Hammers further up the field and the experienced manager is yet to try him in a more attacking role on a regular basis. The DR Congo international seems to have a skill set more suited to being a winger as he is constantly caught out defensively, however his pace and crossing ability see him be a very useful threat when the Hammers are on the front foot. While the Hammers’ desire for Koutris may be legit as he has been linked before, it’s unlikely he’ll directly replace Masuaku or anything like that.
