West Ham United transfer news as Pablo Fornals emerges as Paul Pogba replacement at Juventus
Italian giants Juventus have reportedly put West Ham midfielder Pablo Fornals on their shortlist of potential Paul Pogba replacements, according to TuttoSport.
The report claims that Juventus’ new sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli [The Athletic] is set to evaluate Pogba’s role at the club, whose season was marred with injuries which saw him make just six league appearances for The Old Lady.
Fornals is joined in the shortlist by an array of attacking midfield talent including Lille’s Yusuf Yazıcı, Lazio’s Sergej Milinković-Savić and Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada.
Surprise move on the cards?
While Fornals has racked up a decent amount of game time for David Moyes’ side, he hasn’t been a mainstay or a huge standout for the club this season.
With Harvey Barnes looking likely to join the Hammers, perhaps Fornals’ cycle in east London has come to an end, especially considering that the 27-year-old only has one year remaining on his contract.
Fornals claimed seven goals in all competitions for West Ham last season and made a substitute appearance for the Hammers in their victorious Europa Conference League final, so he certainly has something to offer at the top level.
A switch to one of world football’s biggest teams would not be a poor alternative for Fornals either, despite the Italian side’s recent legal issues regarding Financial Fair Play which may see them evicted from European competition next season [FootballItalia].
Their new sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli also reportedly followed Fornals while he was playing for Villarreal, meaning he is not an unknown quality for Juventus.
West Ham themselves have also been linked with Juventus’ Denis Zakaria [CalcioMercato].
However, this all still depends on Paul Pogba. The World Cup winner has had a difficult time since his return to Turin, but if he can remain fit and committed to the rebuild project at Juventus then he can still be an influential Serie A midfielder for Max Allegri’s side.
In what seems like a surprising development for Fornals, perhaps the Spaniard is set for a spell in black and white.
In other West Ham news, medicals have been booked for this record-breaking transfer.