According to reports in the Evening Standard on May 29, Inter Milan are ready to sell West Ham United loan target Joao Mario for £26m, while Sky Sports report that the east London club’s move for another attacking midfielder – Paris Saint-Germain’s Javier Pastore – is stalling over his £190,000-a-week demands.
The two rumours certainly suggest that new Irons boss Manuel Pellegrini, who could save a fortune this summer by using these exciting youngsters in the first team next term, is determined to bring a player for that particular role before the transfer window slams shut on August 9, in order to add to the attacking options he already has with the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and Manuel Lanzini.
While former loanee Joao Mario would cost a club-record £26m, Sky Sports say that Pastore could be valued at something around £17.5m – not bad for a 28-year-old who has huge experience of winning titles and featuring in the Champions League.
We asked West Ham supporters to vote on our poll to see whether would prefer their club to sign the Portugal international or the Argentine, and the fan-base was largely split with 49% saying they would prefer Pellegrini to splash a club-record fee on Joao Mario – a player they know can make an impact at Premier League level following some impressive glimpses of quality from January onwards.
The east London outfit and their Chilean boss certainly look as though they mean business in the market this summer, and it will be interesting to see which attacking midfielder they end up with.
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