West Ham United news as strong possibility of Denis Zakaria transfer pursuit emerges
There is a “strong possibility” that West Ham United will pursue the transfer of Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria this summer, according to The Mirror.
Fabrizio Romano reported on 22 June that the Hammers had made contact with Juventus over the signature of the former Chelsea loanee.
The 26-year-old has been told he isn’t in the plans of the Italian side next season and would cost a fee of £17.2million. [Gazzetta Dello Sport, 24 June]
The Mirror report said: “Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria – who was on loan at Chelsea last term – is a strong possibility and the Italian club are willing to offload the Switzerland international.
“But it may be that they want two midfielders to strengthen the squad.”
Strong Rice replacement
For a fee of £17million, Zakaria looks like a strong option for West Ham United to pursue in the summer transfer window.
With Declan Rice getting ever-closer to his transfer to Arsenal, David Moyes will need to bring in at least one midfielder this summer to prepare his squad for the demands of European and domestic football again next season.
Although the Swiss midfielder never quite hit the ground running during his loan at Chelsea, who can really blame him, considering the wealth of personnel the Blues had to choose from.
He did show glimpses of class during his temporary spell at Stamford Bridge, and this small flavour of Premier League football will only have aided his development in the long run.
A move to the London Stadium can help the 26-year-old get his career back on track, and as a like-for-like replacement for Rice, there are far worse options out there to target.
In other West Ham news, £25.7m offer on cards as English starlet wanted at the London Stadium.