OPINION
West Ham have surely been handed a boost in their pursuit of Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph with Pep Guardiola side’s moving closer to signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodri.
Football Insider previously reported in May that the Hammers were plotting a move for the 29-year-old Manchester City player as Manuel Pellegrini is a big admirer of him.
Yet while there have been no reports about the Hammers making their interest concrete, surely now is the time to act based on the latest transfer report coming out of Man City.
The Daily Mail reported on Friday that Man City were now willing to listen to offers for Delph as they had beaten Bayern Munich to the services of Rodri by agreeing to activate the buy-out clause in his contract.
The newspaper claimed that as a result the Spanish midfielder would complete his move to the Etihad when he returns from holiday, and his arrival will force Delph further down the pecking order.
The English midfielder only managed 11 Premier League appearances in his 2018/19 campaign and surely he knows he is going to have to exit if he wants a significant amount of playing time now that Rodri is expected to arrive.
This will no doubt make Delph more open to hearing any potential offers that could emerge from West Ham and it would mean Man City would be willing to get a deal done quickly as they effectively all ready have the 29-year-old’s replacement in place.
Delph would be the ideal addition to the Hammers squad as he would provide quality depth in midfield and at left-back.
The Man City ace is capable of playing in both positions to a high-level as he has featured 39 times as a left-back for his current club and 38 times across various positions in midfield for them, and given Guardiola’s team have racked up trophies during Delph’s time with them, that shows his quality.
Also the 29-year-old, who earns £90,000-a-week (Source: Spotrac), is a reliable presence to count on when it comes to his defensive attributes.
Across the 169 Premier League appearances he has made, Delph has a rather high tackle success rate, 76%, and has only ever made four errors which have led to goals which is low considering how many outings he has made. (Source: Premier League)
Considering the Hammers conceded 55 goals in 35 league outings in their 2018/19 campaign, they could do with a player capable of helping them out at the back like Delph.
