OPINION
West Ham United enjoyed a pretty encouraging first season under manager Manuel Pellegrini, and the only way they can feasibly improve next time out is to secure European football.
To do that they will need to bring in greater quality to their playing squad. That’s why it makes perfect sense that Greek outlet Sport 24 reported on Wednesday that the Hammers had made a proposal to Olympiakos for playmaker Konstantinos Fortounis.
The 26-year-old would be an ideal recruit for Pellegrini’s team as they look to take a big step forward next term. He has appeared destined for a move away from Greek football for some time, and West Ham would be a tremendous landing spot for him.
Felipe Anderson got a few goals from midfield, Mark Noble snagged some penalties and Michail Antonio chipped in with a few, but the Hammers weren’t prolific scorers from the middle of the pitch.
Fortounis, though, is a veritable goal machine from midfield. The Greek international scored 17 goals in all competitions last time out, while snaring an equally impressive 16 assists.
Those are stunning statistics and, even if you dilute those numbers due to the quality of opposition he was playing against, it’s still incredible for someone who isn’t an out-and-out striker to score that many goals, while his assist total is phenomenal as well. Plus, he got five goals in 12 Europa League games, so that argument about his opposition doesn’t really stand anyway.
With Manuel Lanzini looking a little rusty and Andrew Yarmolenko coming back from a serious injury, Fortounis would be a perfect signing to add goals and creativity to the Hammers midfield.
If West Ham director of football Mario Husillos manages to pull this one off, the club’s supporters will surely be singing his name for weeks.
