There seems to be a positive update on Roberto Gagliardini, who West Ham tried to sign in January, as the Serie A midfielder seems to be unfavoured at his club, according to Calciomercato.
The Italian news site reports that Conte is not impressed with the Italian, who cost Inter around £23 million, and the club will try to recoup as much of this in the summer as possible.
The central midfielder plays at European giants Inter Milan and has only made 12 appearances this campaign, scoring two and assisting two, via Transfermarkt, and the 26 year-old will want to be playing football more consistently.
He is valued at £13.50 million, per Transfermarkt, and he could be the ideal replacement for ageing club captain and legend Mark Noble.
Noble is 32, per Transfermarkt, and after their loss to Championship side West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup earlier this season, the Englishman said, via talkSPORT, “I’m 33 in May. I’ve been doing this for 15/16 years of my life. It’s half my life. At a club at this level with the money we’ve spent, you can’t rely on me”
This is a very bold statement from the player but emphasises that the Hammers need a replacement for him sooner rather than later, and Gagliardini statistics seem to provide substance to support him coming to East London for Noble.
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Comparing the two via WhoScored, the Italian has on average 1.1 interceptions per game, whilst the Iron has 0.7. Meanwhile Noble has more tackles per game, 1.7 to 1.0, so the two players are very similar defensively.
It could be an interesting summer, with the club rumoured to also want Tomas Soucek on a permanent deal via HITC, whilst Declan Rice has been linked with Chelsea, via Football.London, but attempting to sign the Inter Milan centre midfielder would be a good place for David Moyes to start his rebuild.
