Would Joao Mario be making a mistake choosing Everton over West Ham?

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West Ham United are closer than Premier League rivals Everton to signing Joao Mario from Serie A giants Inter Milan as things stand.

It seems there is only one person preventing West Ham United from sealing the signing of Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario – and that is the player himself.

According to O Jogo, West Ham have agreed a deal to sign the Portuguese playmaker on loan for the rest of the season with an option to make the deal permanent for around £22 million.

An Inter Milan side restricted by Financial Fair Play are keen to sell while West Ham are keen to buy. David Moyes wants more options in midfield and the classy, technically gifted Mario would offer creativity and intelligence in the final third.

But, as O Jogo reports, he is not convinced by a move to the London Stadium. It is understood that he wants to take a few days to reflect before coming to a decision.

So this leaves Everton with a window of opportunity to lure Mario to Goodison Park instead. FC Inter News reported last week that they too are interested.

But while the Toffees boast a more expensively assembled squad, and an ambitious owner willing to spend big, it seems that Mario would be making a mistake choosing Everton over West Ham.

After all, manager Sam Allardyce would have a challenge fitting talisman Wayne Rooney, record-signing Gylfi Sigurdsson, new arrival Theo Walcott and Mario into the same starting XI.

O Jogo reports that Mario wants a club where he would feature more regularly with the World Cup on the horizon and first-team football would be far from guaranteed at Goodison Park.

The same, however, probably could not be said for West Ham. Mario should slot effortlessly into Moyes’ midfield in conjunction with Manuel Lanzini. He could even fill in on the left, a position vacated by Marko Arnautovic since he moved up top, or on the right with Michail Antonio injured.