West Ham United linked forward Adam Ounas looks closer than ever to leaving Napoli, after he was left out of Gennaro Gattuso’s squad for the Serie A opener against Parma on Sunday.
There is no doubting the ability of a winger who was once described by Carlo Ancelotti as a ‘special’ talent capable of producing moments of match-winning brilliance when cutting inside on to his lethal left boot.
But, unfortunately for Ounas, he happens to be contracted to a club who boast some of the finest forward players in European football.
The Algerian international is equally comfortable on the left or the right.
But he still has Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, Hirving Lozano and Armin Younes for competition, and that is without mentioning versatile play-maker Elif Elmas; a favourite of Gattuso’s.
Calciomercato reported recently that, with Napoli keen to sell their £16 million man, Ounas has been offered to West Ham.
AreaNapoli now adds that clubs from Italy and Germany have made offers for a man who produced eight goals and assists on loan at Nice last term.
Just in case he hadn’t received the message, Gattuso’s decision to leave Ounas at home as Napoli travelled to Parma on Sunday made it clearer than ever that the 23-year-old needs to leave if he wants to play first-team football in 2020/21.
It remains to be seen whether West Ham will take up their chance to sign Ounas. In Andriy Yarmolenko and Jarrod Bowen, David Moyes already has two left-footed right wingers.
West Ham’s record transfers
- Sebastien Haller
£45 million
- Felipe Anderson
£41.5 million
- Marko Arnautovic
£25 million
- Pablo Fornals
£24 million
- Issa Diop
£22 million
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