West Ham United have reportedly joined Premier League rivals Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion in the race to sign Italy international Mateo Retegui during the summer transfer window.
No wonder Roberto Mancini was so keen to call him up.
With Italy suffereing from a lack of clinical ‘number nines’, Mancini utilised the old ‘Granny Rule’ to bring Retegui into his Azzurri fold. The Argentine with an Italian grandmother scored on his debut against England. He then followed that up with a bullet header in the Euro 2024 qualifier vs Malta.
In fact, for club and country, Retegui has now scored 31 goals in his last 53 games. The majority of those coming for Club Atletico Tigre; an Argentine outfit who signed the 23-year-old on loan from domestic rivals Boca Juniors.
Retegui has a £2 million option-to-buy clause in his contract. One Tigre are almost certain to trigger, before potentially selling the 6ft 1ins frontman for an immediate and presumably substantial profit. There’s certainly no shortage of interest.
Crystal Palace, West Ham and Brighton like Italy striker Mateo Retegui
According to Corriere dello Sport, Retegui’s agent is due in London in the coming weeks. He will arrive in England in order to hold talks with a number of interested parties. Brighton and a goal-shy Crystal Palace among them.
Gazzetta, meanwhile, believe that West Ham have lodged an enquiry of their own. This comes amid rising doubts over the man competing with Retegui at international level; the out-of-sorts and seemingly out-of-favour Gianluca Scamacca.
The Hammers are also keen on Spezia powerhouse M’Bala Nzola.
La Liga giants Atletico Madrid are also interested. As are an Eintracht Frankfurt side who boast a remarkable track record when it comes to signing exciting young forwards. See Sebastien Haller, Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic and Randal Kolo Muani.
“We have all the world-class players in our archive,” Udinese’s head of recruitment Andrea Carnevale tells Udinese TV when asked about their own interest in one of the game’s most exciting young strikers. “Including Retegui.
“Mancini did well to call him up because he’s very good.”
It may be a little early to describe Retegui as a ‘world-class’ centre-forward. But with 31 goals in his last 53 games, and with a starting spot for the Italian national team potentially sewn up already, Retegui’s reputation is certainly blowing up fast.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
