OPINION
West Ham should kick down Newcastle United’s door for midfield duo Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden with their reported pursuit of Andre Gomes hitting a roadblock.
The London Evening Standard reported on Tuesday that the Hammers were going to explore other options as their hopes of signing Gomes were fading as the 25-year-old is keen on joining Everton.
The national newspaper claim that two possible alternatives being looked at are Shelvey and Hayden, with them thought to cost £15million each.
However why shouldn’t the Hammers sign both, especially with Gomes looking unlikely to join.
Both would be useful to Manuel Pellegrini’s squad and both could end up getting regular playing time.
Shelvey, 27, may have only managed 18 appearances for Rafa Benitez’s side in his latest campaign but his quality is known.
The Magpies midfielder has a fantastic passing range, hence why he has 23 assists in 187 Premier League appearances despite playing in a deep-midfield role often, and could really carve out chances for the Hammers’ attackers.
Shelvey would clearly leapfrog Pedro Obiang, who featured 29 times for the Hammers in the 2018/19 season, as he is a level above and would arguably give Mark Noble a run for his money over his starting spot, given the 27-year-old is a more mobile option.
As for Hayden, he has just had a fantastic 2018/19 campaign and could be an asset from the get-go.
The 24-year-old was the Magpies’ engine in midfield once he got going in his latest season and his no-nonsense tackling style gave his side’s defence an extra layer of protection.
Hayden featured 28 times in his 2018/19 campaign, assisting four goals, and he would also move above Obiang, as well as Noble in the Hammers’ pecking order if he arrived.
The two current Magpies players could arguably play together in Pellegrini’s midfield and see Declan Rice drop back into defence as it’s not like he didn’t excel playing as a centre-back.
Also given that the Evening Standard report that the Hammer’s transfer kitty received a £10million boost on Monday due to the sales of Lucas Perez and Edimilson Fernandes surely the club have enough to get both.
Especially when you consider they bid £20million for Gomes.
So with that in mind the Hammers should kick down their Premier League rival’s door to get Shelvey and Hayden as it would certainly make missing out on Gomes not matter.