West Ham are in talks with Celta Vigo about signing midfielder Stanislav Lobotka and striker Maxi Gomez, according to the Guardian.
The newspaper claims that the Hammers are ready to splash £30million on signing Lobotka, 24, this summer and are confident that a deal can be agreed to lure the Slovakia intentional to the London Stadium.
It is understood that Lobotka has been compared to Real Madrid’s former Tottenham star Luka Modric and Manuel Pellegrini is determined to bolster his midfield options before the start of next season.
Good move for West Ham?
Lobotka is not a terrible player but last season he did feature prominently for a team that was almost relegated from La Liga.
He made 32 appearances in all competitions for Celta and as he is a defensive midfielder, it’s hard to see how it can be justified to spend £30million when Pellegrini already has Declan Rice in that area.
Lobotka would be nothing more than a back-up option for Rice.
The former Ajax midfielder is not a bad player, but for how much he is going to cost, the Irons should give him a miss.
This is Futbol rating 4/10
Likely to happen?
West Ham appear to be confident of signing Lobotka this summer and as Pellegrini wants to strengthen that area of the squad, there’s a good chance that this deal will happen.
Lobotka would surely prefer to play for a mid-table Premier League team than a team that was threatened with relegation from La Liga last season.
This is Futbol rating 5/10