West Ham United could’ve signed Inter Milan’s Joao Mario for £26m – but they were only willing to bring him back to the Premier League on loan.
If West Ham United wanted to sign Joao Mario on a permanent basis this summer, there would not have been much holding them back.
The Portuguese Euro 2016 winner seemed to have no future at Inter Milan, who loaned him out to West Ham for a short spell in the second half of last season. And with Inter at risk of breaking Financial Fair Play sanctions, West Ham did have the chance of bring Mario back to stay.
According to London Evening Standard, Inter were willing to sell for £26 million – but West Ham were only willing to sign him on loan once again.
Suddenly, £26 million looks like a bargain. Because Mario has come in from the cold and swiftly, and unexpectedly, become a massively important player for Luciano Spalletti at the San Siro.
The former Sporting Lisbon midfielder looked promising in his first appearance of the season last week, a 3-0 win against Lazio, but showed why Inter once paid £38 million for him in a remarkable individual performance on Saturday.
Mario scored once, set up two more, and dominated the game in a 5-0 thrashing of Genoa. Suddenly, Inter Milan fans are lauding their once forgotten man – and West Ham supporters are wishing he’d stayed.
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