David Moyes reportedly wants to reunite with Lamine Kone at West Ham – and Sunderland may be all too happy to let him go.
Lamine Kone was hot property in the summer of 2016. As reported by The Chronicle, Sunderland paid Lorient £6 million for the centre-back in the previous January and, along with fellow winter signings Jan Kirchhoff and Wahbi Khazri, played a major role in the ‘great escape’ that saved the Black Cats from relegation.
Kone even scored twice in that 3-0 demolition of Everton at the Stadium of Light that secured Sunderland’s survival – and sent north east neighbours Newcastle United down in their place.
It came as no surprise, then, that Kone had piqued Everton’s interest. According to Sky Sports, The Toffees made a bid of £18 million for a defender who hardly hid his desire to jump ship from Sunderland.
A year-and-a-half on, however, and Kone is still a Sunderland player. Though the fact that the Wearsiders would accept just £6 million for the Ivorian in January, per The Chronicle, shows how far he has fallen.
Not all as it seems
The Sun reported on Friday that new West Ham boss David Moyes is keen to sign Kone in the New Year, having worked with the 28-year-old at a Sunderland side who were relegated in humiliating fashion last season.
And while Kone’s vastly reduced price-tag may be seen as a fillip for a West Ham side who need to watch their finances, the fact that the defender’s value has dropped by such a huge amount should also set off a few alarm bells.
After Kone was denied the chance to move to Goodison Park last season, his attitude, not to mention his performances, declined alarmingly. These days, he’s not even guaranteed a starting place in a Sunderland side sitting bottom of the Championship.
West Ham should keep this in mind, then. Kone’s ‘bargain’ price tag hides more than a few faults.
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