West Ham are close to sealing a last-gasp double deal that will see Arsenal forward Lucas Perez and Fiorentina enforcer Carlos Sanchez head to the London Stadium, according to Guardian reporter Jacob Steinberg.
The reliable journalist claimed on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday morning that while the Hammers are closing in on the duo, fans can expect a quiet deadline day to end what has been a manic summer transfer window for the club.
Could be a quiet deadline day for West Ham – deals for Arsenal's Lucas Perez and Fiorentina's Carlos Sanchez close. Extra cover up front and in defensive midfield. There was interest in Bernard, but v expensive #whufc
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) August 7, 2018
It is understood that Spanish forward Perez and former Aston Villa man Sanchez are being brought in to provide extra cover to two areas that Manuel Pellegrini is yet to significantly improve.
OPINION
West Ham have spent a lot of money this summer and pretty much all of their signings bring some kind of excitement with them. Perez may be a good addition after struggling for game-time at Arsenal behind some top centre-forwards, but the addition of Sanchez is an odd one considering how poorly he played for Aston Villa and how woefully average he was for Colombia at the World Cup. At 32-years-of-age, Sanchez’s best days are past him – if he ever had any best days. He is used to playing defensive midfield in Serie A, which is a much slower league than the Premier League. The ex-Villa defensive midfielder could barely get into the Fiorentina first team for the first half of last season as well and was shipped out on loan to Espanyol in January. Pellegrini should have spent more money on strengthening his defensive midfield. Hopefully it doesn’t come back to haunt him.