West Ham are close to finalising a deal to sign Moussa Marega from Porto, according to A Bola.
The Portuguese outlet says that the 28-year-old will not be returning to Porto once his African Cup of Nations duties with Mali are finished, and will instead make the move to the London Stadium.
A Bola says that the Hammers were keen on Marega last summer but were unable to strike a deal, whereas this time round an agreement has been reached between the player and his club that will allow him to leave.
OPINION
If this report is true, it is fantastic news for West Ham fans. They are in need of a new attacker, with Andy Carroll and Lucaz Perez having been released and Javier Hernandez admitting that he has been told that he can leave the club [Sky Sports]. That would leave Manuel Pellegrini with just Marko Arnautovic to look towards, and so the need for a new attacker is clear and obvious. As regards what Marega would bring to the West Ham team, his statistics from Whoscored show that he is an old-fashioned striker who would benefit the side. He scored 11 goals in the Portuguese first division, taking an average of 3.2 shots per game. Out of those shots, 2.4 were from inside the penalty area, and that shows that Marega is deadly where the goals are typically got, which is a great sign. He is also good in the air, having won an average of two aerial duels in the league and 1.6 in the Champions League. What’s more, Marega was named Man of the Match in three Liga NOS games as well as two Champions League games, so his good performances have certainly not gone unnoticed. Overall, the statistics show that Marega would be a very good signing for West Ham and this is one player they should definitely pursue.
