Pervis Estupinan has been linked with a move to West Ham this summer, and ExWHUemployee has given his verdict on where a potential deal is at on The West Ham Way podcast.
The full-back looked set for a move to Napoli, however, that appears to have broken down now with the Serie A side not able to afford the player’s wage demands now the Hammers are reportedly closing in on the Villarreal defender.
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Last season, David Moyes called upon Aaron Cresswell to operate as either a full-back or wing-back, but at 31, and with an increased amount of games this season, Moyes may well look to add another body into his backline, which would also free up Cresswell to play as a centre-back – something he did last campaign.
Ex delivered his thoughts on West Ham potentially looking at Estupinan.
“The name that’s come out in the press in the last couple of days is a guy called Pervis Estupinan. He’s a player who plays for Villarreal and who has just turned down Napoli.
“I must admit, this is a name that has come to me from nowhere other than the rumours, so I’m not going to claim to have known this one, because I’ll tell you why: he wasn’t on a list of desired targets that we were going to make a move for because we felt that a deal had already been agreed for him to go to Napoli.
“So what I think’s happened – if there’s truth to this, and I haven’t had it confirmed either way yet – is that the agents have got on the phone, realised that Italian clubs aren’t the best clubs to be going to financially and that the English clubs are paying a lot more, and probably phoned around a number of clubs.
“They know we’re looking for a left-back/left wing-back, so I don’t know if it’s as close as has been reported.”
TIF Thoughts on the links to Estupinan…
The Hammers do have Cresswell, who has proved to be a great player under Moyes, especially in the opposition’s final third and from dead-ball situations as he managed to rack up eight assists in the Premier League last season.
Moyes can call upon Arthur Masuaku if Cresswell is injured or in need of a rest, however, with the added Europa League games this season, the manager may feel like the more depth to his squad, the better.
Therefore, it is no surprise that the Hammers are apparently looking for another body in that area of the field as Ex suggests, but it remains to be seen if Estupinan will be the man to arrive at the London Stadium in the coming weeks.