West Ham director of football Mario Husillos eyed up Olympiakos left-back Leonardo Koutris as he played for Greece on Thursday night, according to Scouts in Attendance.
The super-reliable Twitter account, which regularly gives updates on scouting missions done by top clubs, claimed on Saturday that Husillos watched 23-year-old Koutris make his international debut for Greece in their 1-0 win against Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
It is understood that Husillos already has ties with the Brazil-born (transfermarkt) left-back as he signed him last year while he was sporting director of Olympiakos.
#whufc director of football Mario Husillos saw 23yo Olympiakos LB Leonardo Koutris make his Greece debut v Finland on Thurs
Husillos was sporting director of Olympiakos when they signed Koutris from PAS Giannina in 2017 pic.twitter.com/bxz5ZyPFQ5
— Scouts in Attendance (@scoutsattending) November 17, 2018
Good move for West Ham?
Manuel Pellegrini definitely needs a new left-back in January and it looks as though Husillos has been tasking with scoping one out for him to sign.
Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell have both been pretty hopeless, but there are doubts over whether Koutris can be an improvement on the existing London Stadium duo.
He is now a Greece international yes, but has taken his time to earn his first cap when players at Olympiakos should be seen as best that Greece has to offer.
The left-back is decent, but he probably won’t be able to offer anything that Pellegrini doesn’t have already.
This is Futbol rating 5/10
Likely to happen?
At this stage it looks as though West Ham are just scouting Koustris so it is hard to judge whether or not a deal will happen in the January transfer window.
Pellegrini needs to have a shortlist of targets drawn up by the end of next month so as it is now mid-November, Husillos is probably scouting players who could be serious targets for the winter.
Olympiakos may not be willing to cash in on the 23-year-old, so it could take a bit of haggling to sign him up.
This is Futbol rating 6/10