Former Premier League owner Simon Jordan can see West Ham United offering Aaron Ramsey a fresh start with Juventus making the midfielder available, while speaking to talkSPORT (11 August, 12:00pm).
The perennial underachievers of English football certainly have a track record when it comes to offering experienced players a fresh start at the London Stadium.
Well, where some would say ‘experienced’, others would say ‘over the hill’.
In recent years, Alvaro Arbeloa, Patrice Evra, Roberto Jimenez, Carlos Sanchez and Lucas Perez have all endured disastrous spells in claret and blue.
While absolutely no one should be writing Ramsey off just yet, an injury-prone, £250,000-a-week player who is due to turn 30 before the end of the year is certainly carrying a lot of baggage.
“It depends what Aaron Ramsey you’ve got. If you look at Jack Wilshere three years ago, you’d think he was a great signing. Look at Wilshere now and you’re looking at a different dynamic,” former Crystal Palace owner Jordan says.
“Aaron Ramsey would grace, I suspect, most of the Premier League clubs…well, if it’s the Aaron Ramsey who left Arsenal, physically and psychologically.
“You can’t help but think a player coming back, with the level of injuries he’s had in his career…I hate to say it but he sounds like a West Ham acquisition.”
“If you can nick him at £60-£70k-a-week because Juve are willing to let him go on loan, then that opens the door for a variety of teams in the Premier League. It’s probably, if not his last big contract, then close to it.”
The Mirror claim that Ramsey has no future under new Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo, having started just 11 Serie A games during a forgettable spell in Turin.
But it should not be forgotten that, during his final campaign at Arsenal, the Wales international was perhaps the most in-form and influential midfielder at Unai Emery’s disposal.
Fully fit and firing, Ramsey would be by far and away West Ham’s best player.
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