West Ham have identified the two defenders they want to bring in to bolster their backline, according to Football.London.
It is understood that Manuel Pellegrini wishes to make the Hammers more solid at the back and will look to Alaves centre half Guillermo Maripan and Olympiakos left back Leonardo Koutris to do so.
The pair will be part of a broader transfer strategy aimed at bringing in younger players for bigger transfer fees on smaller wages, as opposed to signing more experienced talent on bigger contracts – a policy that hasn’t always worked too well in the past.
Good move for West Ham?
In a word, yes. The Hammers are crying out for a left-back, and Fabian Balbuena’s injury this season has highlighted the need for a covering centre-half as well. Both Maripan and Koutris have impressed immensely this season, and would appear to be perfect fits for the more progressive transfer policy that Pellegrini and Mario Husillos are advocating. To be fair to the pair, a lot of their signings from last summer have worked out quite well, and the only ones that haven’t have been the players who have suffered through injury. You would be surprised if Maripan and Koutris turned out to be flops.
This is Futbol rating: 9/10
Likely to happen?
The Hammers seem fairly set on this new approach to transfers, and if they are keen to follow through on their promises, then this would a be great place to start. Neither player will come particularly cheap, but they shouldn’t command the same kind of astronomical wages as other, more established, names. That should allow the Irons to pour more into their pursuit of them, and could be the difference in getting this double swoop over the line. It’s a long way off, but certainly a strong possibility.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10