West Ham United are interested in Chievo Verona midfielder Samuel Bastien, according to a reliable journalist.
Ed Aarons, who is deputy news editor at Guardian sport, reported on Twitter on Monday that the Hammers are the latest Premier League club to contact Chievo about the 21-year-old.
Aarons claims that Hammers’ relegation rivals Bournemouth and Huddersfield have also made enquiries for the Belgium Under-21 international, who has impressed this season:
West Ham the latest Premier League club to show an interest in Chievo's Samuel Bastien. Huddersfield and Bournemouth have also made enquiries over Belgian midfielder #whufc
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) January 22, 2018
Central midfielder Bastien has made 13 appearances in Serie A for Chievo this season, scoring one goal for the 13th-placed Serie A side.
He has been deployed in a central role this season, but has experience as a more advanced playmaker earlier on in his career.
Good move for West Ham?
David Moyes is quite obviously desperate to secure some midfield reinforcements this month, and Bastien is the latest in the long line of reported targets.
The Hammers’ search has linked them to players such as Jonjo Shelvey, Leander Dendoncker, Clement Grenier and Fabien Ruiz, but no bid seems to have been tabled yet.
Bastien has obviously impressed enough to gain interest from several Premier League sides, despite playing just 13 times this season.
The young Belgian is obviously highly regarded, but would he be able to come in and make an instant impact at West Ham? It would seem a risky investment.
This is Futbol rating: 6/10
Likely to happen?
It is obviously early stages in West Ham’s interest in Bastien.
There is also clearly competition for the 21-year-old’s signature.
At this point, it looks more likely that the Hammers will move for his Belgian compatriot Dendoncker, after Stuart Pearce was sent to scout the 22-year-old over the weekend.
This is Futbol rating: 3/10