West Ham midfielder Pedro Obiang has set his sights on the exit door this summer as he looks to pursue a new challenge away from east London, according to Football Insider.
The reputable football news website claim that the Equatorial Guinea international wants to leave the Hammers after four years with the club and that a potential return to Italy could be on the cards.
It is stated that with three years left on the 27-year-old’s contract West Ham will be able to get a significant fee for his exit, having seen him play 28 times across all competitions this season, 11 of those coming as starts in the Premier League.
Opinion
This is not going to surprise too many people with Obiang having fallen down the pecking order at West Ham. The likes of Mark Noble and Declan Rice are always going to be favoured over him and at Obiang’s age, he really should be trying to start as many games as possible. The fact the Irons can still demand a decent fee for his departure means that they will not be too disappointed to see him go and that cash can be reinvested into bringing better quality to the club over the summer. Of course it will leave Manuel Pellegrini with a lack of options in the middle of the park and so some recruitment is an absolute must, but as midfielders go, Obiang will not be too hard to replace. However, with Rice likely to be in demand from some top quality sides this summer, the Chilean boss might well have to be looking at getting a couple of central midfielders lined up, just in case.