West Ham United reportedly tried and failed to bring Torino’s Andrea Belotti to the Premier League, now he’s being linked with La Liga powerhouses Real.
Replacing Cristiano Ronaldo is easier said than done. But that is the challenge facing a Real Madrid side who have finally come to the end of a miserable 2018/19 campaign, finishing third in La Liga and scoring 27 fewer goals than runaway title winners Barcelona.
But could Andrea Belotti be the natural-born goal poacher Real are crying out for in the post-CR7 era? According to La Sexta, Zinedine Zidane’s side have identified the Italian international as one of their striker targets after a superb run of form for Torino.
For the first time since that breakthrough 2016/17 season, Belotti looks like a top class centre-forward again.
A prolific 2019 has seen the 25-year-old take his tally to 15 in Serie A for Torino – a stunning overhead kick in the recent victory against Sassuolo undoubtedly the pick of the bunch.
These match wining displays, plus links with Real Madrid, should have West Ham United fans wondering what might have been.
According to Calciomercato in March, West Ham were hoping to lure Belotti to the London Stadium this summer after seeing a bid rejected in the January transfer window.
But, with all due respect to The Hammers, you could hardly blame Belotti for favouring a potentially career-defining switch to the Santiago Bernabau.
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