View: West Ham -linked star still worth a punt despite ‘pointless’ claim
West Ham United are still pursuing a January move for AS Monaco midfielder Aleksandr Golovin despite a claim from a former USSR international.
The Hammers reportedly made contact with Golovin’s agent last week [Sport Witness] but there has been no movement on either side of the deal since then.
Aleksandr Bubnov, who played 34 times for USSR between 1977 and 1987, has made his opinions very clear on Golovin’s Premier League aspects.
“My opinion is that his transition to the Premier League would be pointless,” Bubnov said to Russian media outlet Sportbox.
“There the league is very strong, it requires a lot of energy. Constant workloads and a tight schedule are something that is not exactly prescribed for Golovin because he is prone to injury.
“I don’t think that Alexander will suddenly begin to show himself brighter there. He simply does not have enough physical data. Even in France, he rarely lasts a full match.”
It isn’t exactly encouraging to hear given the energy David Moyes demands from his midfield but the Russian probably wouldn’t come in to start at the London Stadium anyway.
It would take a seriously special talent to displace Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek in the West Ham midfield right now given the relationship the two have on the pitch.
Maybe Moyes needs another body in the centre of the park with Pablo Fornals having filled in for Soucek in the past two games as the big Czech missed out through illness.
Golovin would provide a more reserved option for Moyes who could sit alongside Rice rather than slightly ahead of the England international as Fornals has done against Norwich and Leeds.
A deal for the 25-year-old still seems rather far away but they shouldn’t turn their backs on negotiations despite Bubnov’s opinions.
In other West Ham news, this starlet is on his way to La Liga on loan to try and earn first-team football.