West Ham United apparently could be set to lose out to Aston Villa in the summer transfer window, big time.
Incoming new West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has a lot of work to do this summer, but he faces a big problem if he is to address one specific problem position in the form of Aston Villa and his compatriot Unai Emery.
Lopetegui is already planning his summer transfer strategy with Tim Steidten, and is holding a top level meeting with the German today.
If we are to make some genuine progress under Lopetegui over the next few years, one of his key tasks will be to improve our full-back ranks, both on the left and right.
And it seems like Villa could be about to ruin one of the Spaniard’s transfer plans already!
According to a report from Tuttosport, Aston Villa could be about to hijack the Hammers’ planned move to sign Torino ace Raoul Bellanova this summer.
West Ham have been strongly linked with a £21 million move to sign the Italian already over the past month or so.
Now though, it seems like Villa have taken the lead in the race for his signature…
Aston Villa could hijack £21m West Ham transfer
I really hope that Lopetegui, Tim Steidten and co pull something out the hat here regarding a move for Bellanova.
He is exactly what we need at the London Stadium, and we cannot afford to miss out on him to Villa – one of our direct competitors.
The Torino star, 24, has absolutely everything needed to succeed in the Premier League.
The Italian is a proper modern day full-back, and he can get up and down the right hand flank for the duration of the 90 minutes.
He has blistering pace and acceleration in abundance, and has energy to burn. Bellanova would be a big upgrade on Vladimir Coufal at the London Stadium.
However, with Aston Villa ready to hijack West Ham United’s move to sign the Torino star, we could be set to face some big disappointment this summer.
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