West Ham United and Spurs in transfer battle to sign Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi
West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly in the race to sign Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi this summer.
According to Italian media outlet Tutto Atalanta, the Serie A side are looking for a fee in the region of £29.5million to sign the 29-year-old Ukraine international.
While Spurs have not made an offer to that extent as yet, the Hammers are understood to be mulling over making a bid as they eye a midfielder this summer.
Vanaken replacement?
West Ham have signed Flynn Downes from Swansea but the feeling at the London Stadium is that they want someone who can be a first-team regular.
Tomas Soucek’s performances have been far from impressive over the last 12 months and David Moyes would surely want someone better to partner Declan Rice.
It seemed for the longest time that Hans Vanaken was his priority and player’s representatives have even held talks over his move to the London Stadium.
However, there does not appear to be any concrete progress on that one so it makes sense that they’re looking at the Ukrainian.
That said, Malinovskyi is close to 30 and it can be argued that his best years are now behind him so it could be a steep investment for someone past his prime.
He also has no prior Premier League experience which is certainly going to be a major con as the Hammers will weigh up their options in the final days of the window.
Hopefully, if they’re willing to spend that kind of money, they opt for someone younger instead.