West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini is in the hunt for £18 million rated Nice attacking maestro Allan Saint-Maximin, according to the Sun.
The newspaper reports on their website that the 21-year-old explosive attacker is a target for the Hammers boss who views the Frenchman as a potential replacement for winger and playmaker Manuel Lanzini, who suffered a major blow and is set to miss the majority of next season due to an injury to his cruciate knee ligament.
Pellegrini is said to have previously targeted both Paris Saint Germain’s Javier Pastore and Felipe Anderson from Lazio, but the former’s wages and the latter’s price tag were deemed too high for West Ham, with their hunt taking a fresh twist towards the Nice attacker
Good move for West Ham?
Pellegrini is targeting a replacement for Lanzini, and the France Under 21’s international appears to fit the bill perfectly with his 5 goals and 9 assists last season.
Having made 40 appearances for Nice in the 2017/2018 campaign, Saint-Maximin is no stranger to first team football, and the Hammers will be able to offer him that given their current situation with Lanzini.
At 21, he is young but full of first team and competitive league experience with Nice – who finished 8th in Ligue 1 last term – and Pellegrini will be looking to make the most of this.
This is Futbol rating: 7.5/10
Likely to happen?
Given that Pellegrini is also said to be interested in a loan spell for Manchester City winger Brahim Diaz to replace Lanzini, a move away from France for the Nice midfielder is up in the air.
Saint-Maximin will cost around £18 million, whilst Diaz is available on loan – so Pellegrini will have to decide whether he will risk the lack of experience for a young loan star, or pay the price to land a player who is more experienced.
He needs to decide quickly who is better suited to the club before his rivals come sniffing.
This is Futbol rating: 6.5/10