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Does West Ham’s Yuto Nagatomo enquiry mean Patrice Evra’s days are numbered?

David Moyes, Manager of West Ham United looks on ahead of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Watford at London Stadium on Februar...
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Patrice Evra only returned to the Premier League with West Ham United on a short-term deal…and the Hammers are already looking for replacements it seems.

West Ham United's Patrice Evra (L) and Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Roberto Firmino vie during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and West Ham United at...

Patrice Evra’s first Premier League appearance since the spring of 2014 did not exactly go the way he intended.

The 36-year-old left-back played the full 90 minutes as David Moyes’ Hammers were, well, hammered by Liverpool at Anfield, and, after the 4-1 defeat, Evra treated the world to a rather nasty close up of a leg wound which required stitches after full-time.

And that display did little to quell the fear from West Ham fans that Evra is simply not the same defender who rampaged down the left for so many years at Manchester United.

Marseille's French defender Patrice Evra (R) vies for the ball with Domzale's Slovenian forward Jan Repas (L) during the UEFA Europa League playoff round second leg football match between...

The former France international only signed a short-term deal until the end of the season after being sacked by Marseille following a high-profile altercation with one of the club’s own supporters.

And it is interesting to note that West Ham already appear to be lining up players capable of replacing Evra once his short-term deal comes to an end.

FC Inter News reported on Monday that The Hammers have made an enquiry about Inter Milan left-back Yuto Nagatomo. The Japanese international, who joined Galatasaray on loan last month appears unlikely to play for the Nerrazzuri again as Inter need to sell due to Financial Fair Play restrictions.

Yuto Nagatomo of FC Internazionale in action during the serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and FC Internazionale at Stadio Artemio Franchi on January 5, 2018 in Florence, Italy.

At the age of 31, he is far younger than Evra and therefore should offer West Ham a greater shelf-life.

And if Evra cannot roll back the years at the London Stadium, it would be a major surprise if he was handed a contract extension at the expense of looking for a younger model.