West Ham make approach for Arthur after Juventus transfer news
West Ham United have made an approach for ex-Liverpool loanee Arthur Melo after an update from parent club Juventus, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Hammers have been alerted to the impending availability of the Brazil midfielder, who is reportedly not in the plans of incoming Juventus manager Thiago Motta.
Arthur is currently on loan at Serie A side Fiorentina but will return to Juventus after playing in the UEFA Conference League final as both Napoli and Everton also track his progress with La Viola.
It is shared that Fiorentina weren’t willing to pay Juventus’ £17million asking price for the 27-year-old, opening the door for West Ham to give Arthur a second chance at Premier League football.
Arthur set to seal West Ham United transfer?
West Ham were hit with the news on 23 May that Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta could face a lengthy FA ban for betting-related misconduct, potentially leaving a massive hole in key position for the Hammers.
Losing their number 10 – for no financial recompense either – would give new head coach Julen Lopetegui a big, and costly, problem to solve, with very few players close to Paqueta in terms of skillset.
Signing Arthur may help to ease that burden, and while he’s more of a defensive-minded central midfielder than Paqueta, placing him in the side would allow James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek, who both scored against Luton in the penultimate Premier League match, more freedom to go forward.
Lopetegui has already identified six areas of his team which need addressing before the start of next season, and if the potential ban of Paqueta is to make that number seven, bringing in one Brazilian for another in the form of Arthur could be a solution to the Spaniard’s first setback.
In other West Ham news, Harry Redknapp has shared a Lopetegui transfer claim live on talkSPORT.
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