West Ham United want to sign Atletico Madrid defender Mario Hermoso ahead of Aston Villa
West Ham United want to sign Atletico Madrid defender Mario Hermoso this summer ahead of Aston Villa, according to TuttoJuve.
Writing on their website (4 April), the Italian news outlet report that the Hammers want to strengthen their defence and consider Hermoro an “interesting option”.
West Ham are willing to offer him a salary in excess of £82,000 per week and are determined to convince the Spaniard to move to east London, although Unai Emery also wants to bring him to the Premier League.
“West Ham enter the race for Mario Hermoso, in a bid to strengthen their defense ahead of next season, consider Hermoso an interesting option,” they wrote.
“Willing to offer him a salary in excess of €5million a year (£82,485 per week), the Hammers are determined to convince the Spanish defender to join them.
“However, Aston Villa are also in the running for Hermoso.”
West Ham United to bolster the defence this summer
Defence is a key area for any team in the Premier League, and with the way West Ham have performed this season it’s clear some improvements are needed.
Kurt Zouma was made captain of the team after Declan Rice left and he has performed reasonably well this season, but his partner has often been up in the air.
Nayef Aguerd has struggled for form while Dinos Mavropanos has taken his time to settle in to Premier League football, while both Aguerd and Zouma have been linked with moves to Saudi Arabia.
Hermoso would be a top talent to bring in, considering he has played at a high level in the Champions League with Atletico Madrid and at 28 years old he is at the peak of his career.
Premier League clubs have the financial power to make a transfer like this viable, but the Irons will have to move quickly to beat the competition to his signature. They do have alternative targets though, so it’s one to watch in the coming months.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers want to sign this World Cup finalist in a deal worth £25m+.
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