Do West Ham need to worry about Everton hijacking move for Joao Mario?

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Incoming Everton boss has history with recent West Ham loanee.

West Ham are trying to re-sign Joao Mario after an impressive loan spell… but could they face competition from Everton?

West Ham want to bring him back on loan again, but Inter Milan are pushing to try and land a £26 million fee for the Portugal international, the Evening Standard report.

Meanwhile cash rich Everton are set to appoint Marco Silva as manager, and as the Daily Post points out, this could have an impact on Joao Mario.

Silva managed Joao Mario with success at Sporting Clube de Portugal, back in 2014/15, with the winger scoring seven goals.

So, do West Ham really need to worry about Everton moving for the 25-year-old?

The Toffees do have a sizeable transfer pot, but even so, £26 million is a lot to spend on an attacker who scored just twice in 12 games in his loan appearance.

He impressed and helped West Ham, but it was not spectacular, and even the Hammers are hesitating over paying Inter’s demands.

He played as a central attacking midfielder for West Ham, as one of two players behind a central striker along with Manuel Lanzini.

This is a position where Everton are spoiled for choice.

They have Gylfi Sigurdsson, and are committed to getting something out of Davy Klaassen this season.

If they pushed Mario out wide, he would have to compete with Theo Walcott.

Everton moving for him is a credible suggestion based on Silva’s upcoming arrival, but the Toffees do not have an urgent need.

If West Ham want him, they should try and strike a compromise with Inter. If they can’t then they run the risk of another team, potentially Everton, stealing in.