West Ham want to sign Marco Verratti. Credit: Imago / Radio-Canada Sports YouTube

West Ham want to sign Marco Verratti, player stance shared ahead of summer

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior football journalist specialising in refereeing and officiating; former contributor to The Football League Paper, Late Tackle, and the Premier League; University of Derby graduate. FOCUS Refereeing controversies, football finance and governance, PGMOL decisions, and officiating analysis across the Premier League, EFL, and SPFL. THE INSIGHT Harri utilises a network of officiating and industry contacts to deliver verified, expert analysis of refereeing decisions and PGMOL policy. He provides the regulatory clarity behind the controversy to ensure fans get the full picture.

Published on:

07 Feb 2025, 3:10 pm

Graham Potter could already be looking to make wholesale changes to the West Ham midfield ahead of the summer transfer window.

Andy Irving and Tomas Soucek were the most recent midfielder partners, featuring during the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, with the new manager changing to a back-three formation at Stamford Bridge.

The former Brighton and Chelsea man is still figuring out his best starting XI, and understandably so, having only taken over the reins from Julen Lopetegui last month.

However, his recent changes has spoken volumes about the quality of midfielders current in East London, with Guido Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez impressing nobody so far this term.

While the latter was unavailable to face Chelsea due to injury, he has also been in and out of the team because of some awful performance, and Potter is clearly considering his choices ahead of the window.

Marco Verratti considering Al-Arabi exit

West Ham, Bournemouth and Fulham have all joined the race to sign former Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti, according to TBR Football.

The online source reported [7 February] that the 32-year-old, who has 55 caps for Italy, was the subject of interest during the winter transfer window and could move to the Premier League.

It is understood that Verratti is considering a move back to Europe after joining Al-Arabi from PSG in a two-year deal in September 2023, going on to make 30 appearances for the Qatari club.

Carlos Soler can play important role in West Ham transfer

Given their links to PSG, Soler currently on loan from the Ligue 1 giants and Verratti spending 11 years in France, the Hammers loanee could play a big role in drawing him to England.

Carlos Soler joined West Ham United in the summer transfer window [Credit: Imago]

There is no doubt that the Italian international is a talented playmaker, boasting 11 goals and 61 assists during his long spell with PSG, but his age might be a concern.

Potter currently has one of the oldest squads, on average, in the Premier League and will not want to be making that even worse during his first full transfer window in charge.

Verratti would, undoubtedly add quality to the current squad but questions need to be asked about what direction the team wants to go in after this transfer link.

West Ham United

Marco Verratti