Journalist Dean Jones has urged the West Ham faithful to take rumours of the Hammers signing Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic with a pinch of salt.
West Ham have been linked to several players in the summer transfer window, and the latest to be linked with a move to the club is Nikola Milenkovic, as per Corriere Fiorentino (via Sport Witness). The Fiorentina defender has been a mainstay in the side this season, featuring 31 times in all competitions.
Milenkovic has been part of the Fiorentina side that currently sit eighth in Serie A, nine points off the top four with a game in hand, so there is still a slim chance that they could qualify for the Champions League ahead of next season.
Although Milenkovic has been linked with a move to West Ham, whilst speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones highlighted that he is uncertain on how seriously to take the rumours.
He said: “It’s hard to know at this point how seriously to take it because most people I speak to around West Ham are like, ‘just take everything with a pinch of salt for now’.”
TIF Thoughts on Dean Jones’ comments…
According to Transfermarkt, Milenkovic has a current market value of £20.7m and has been impressive for Fiorentina in the league this season, having an average passing accuracy of 90%, as well as an average of 3.1 clearances per game. Meanwhile, he has outstandingly won 70% of his total duels, as per SofaScore.
With the impressive form of the Serbian defender, clubs have started to show interest in him and it will be interesting to see where he will end up by the start of next season.
It is likely that if Fiorentina do not qualify for European football for next season, the chances of the Italian club keeping their man will decrease, especially if West Ham end up qualifying for Europe themselves.