Antonio Vergara at centre of ‘significant’ development after £17m+ West Ham bid
West Ham were eager to sign Napoli midfielder Antonio Vergara in the winter transfer window.
This season has been a wretched one for Hammers fans so far. West Ham sacked head coach Graham Potter in late September after a poor run of form.
Their fortunes have somewhat improved in recent weeks, although Potter’s successor, Nuno Espirito Santo, is still fighting to save his West Ham job.
West Ham sit six points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest as they try to maintain their Premier League status, with the East London team last out of the top flight back in 2011-12.
Just before the winter transfer window shut, West Ham signed Chelsea defender Axel Disasi on loan for the rest of the season, but it appears they also attempted to bring in Napoli’s Vergara before deadline day.
West Ham made January move for Napoli’s Antonio Vergara
Vergara has been at Napoli since 2014 and despite progressing through the club’s academy, his quest for first-team action required patience.
In the last three seasons, he has been on loan at Serie C side Pro Vercelli, where he scored three goals in 35 appearances, before spending the last two campaigns a division higher with Reggiana.
After scoring five goals in 33 games last term, he has finally been given a chance in Napoli’s first-team, with the 20-year-old making 12 appearances to date and scoring two goals in all competitions.
Up until 17 January, Vergara had played just 17 minutes of Serie A football this season as manager Antonio Conte relied on his Napoli teammates in midfield.
But all that changed in Napoli’s 1-0 win over Sassuolo when he was handed a rare league start. Since then, he has been in the starting lineup for the following games against Juventus and Fiorentina – a match he scored and assisted in.
Now, reports suggest that Napoli want to extend his contract, which runs until 2030, to 2031. This is off the back of West Ham bidding a little over £17million for his services, reports Calciomercato.
The report adds that Napoli want a deal signed swiftly as a result of the recent interest, with the new deal seeing him land a “significant” increase on his current salary once signed.
Will West Ham’s winter signings keep them in the Premier League?
With Nuno’s side looking down and out, West Ham signed Taty Castellanos and Pablo to bolster their underwhelming attack.
Conversely, playmaker Lucas Paqueta swapped West Ham for Flamengo in a deal worth up to £35.8m.
Former Wolves winger Adama Traore reunited with Nuno as he swapped Fulham for West Ham for around £2m shortly before the window shut.
West Ham have certainly improved in recent weeks and had it not been for a dramatic Chelsea comeback last Saturday, the Hammers would have made it four wins in a row in all competitions.
Leeds United’s win over Forest on Friday gives West Ham a chance to close to within three points of Sean Dyche’s men if they beat Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
West Ham certainly went big in the winter window. But whether or not it will be too little too late is up in the air.