OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini should be licking his lips after it was reported that West Ham have been handed a boost in their hunt to sign Saint-Etienne midfielder Yann M’Vila.
Goal journalist Robin Bairner claimed via his personal Twitter account on Tuesday that West Ham’s chances of signing the 28-year-old in the summer have increased after L’Equipe reported that manager Jean-Louis Gasset will leave Saint-Etienne once the season is over.
It is understood that M’Vila is “very close” to Gasset, and him leaving the Ligue 1 club will increase the likelihood of a summer move for the defensive midfielder.
West Ham's chances of landing Yann M'Vila boosted by the news Jean-Louis Gasset will quit Saint-Etienne at the end of the season. (L'Equipe) Defensive midfielder is very close to his coach. #WHUFC #ASSE
— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) May 21, 2019
West Ham boss Pellegrini should be loving this news because M’Vila is just the player that he needs to sign in the summer to add an extra layer of defensive depth in front of his defence.
According to stats by WhoScored, the former Sunderland midfielder completed 71 interceptions in Ligue 1 this season, which is way more than any Hammers player managed in the Premier League with Issa Diop their most successful in that area with 64 interceptions.
No other midfielder in Ligue 1 completed more passes than the France international this season either with him finding team-mates on 2186 occasions. By comparison, West Ham’s best passer was Felipe Anderson, who completed 1668 passes.
It is clear that M’Vila is someone who is just as good on the ball as he is off it and as West Ham’s back-up defensive midfielder is injury-prone Carlos Sanchez, the Frenchman is just the man that Pellegrini needs to help see out matches and stop conceding so many goals.