West Ham are in talks over a £16million swoop to sign Olympiakos midfielder Kostas Fortounis, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claims that director of football Mario Husillos has recommended that the Hammers sign the 26-year-old playmaker to add more quality to Manuel Pellegrini’s midfield options alongside Declan Rice and Mark Noble.
It is also understood that Edmilison Fernandes has agreed terms to leave West Ham in an £8million deal to join Mainz, which could raise half of the fee to sign Greece international Fortounis from Olympiakos.
Good move for West Ham?
Fortounis has had a great season with Olympiakos.
The former Kaiserslautern attacker scored 17 goals and supplied 16 assists in 43 appearances across all competitions for the Greek giants, who finished second in the league and reached the knock-out stages of the Europa League.
West Ham could certainly do with some extra quality in that part of the squad and Fortounis is certainly someone who is experienced in top-flight and European football and is well-known to Husillos, who has previously worked at Olympiakos.
However that £16million fee seems a bit steep for someone who has never really shone outside of Greece and it could be a gamble.
Either way, half of that transfer could be paid for by offloading Fernandes, who is one of a number of players classed as deadwood at the London Stadium.
This is Futbol rating 6/10
Likely to happen?
Husillos’ ties to Olympiakos could come in handy here and there is a good chance that Fortounis would want to join West Ham because of the pay rise he is bound to get by making the switch.
It more than likely depends on whether West Ham can negotiate a fair fee, but Olympiakos are bound to want a lot of money for their best player, who is also their captain.
This is Futbol rating 4/10