West Ham United have reportedly enquired about the Brazilian’s availability.
Manuel Pellegrini has been busy as he tries to strengthen West Ham United’s squad ahead of the 2018/19 Premier League season. The London club finished 13th, below expectations, and manager David Moyes was consequently sacked.
Now, Spanish outlet Sport is reporting that West Ham have enquired about the availability of Barcelona’s Brazilian midfielder Rafinha, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Inter Milan.
Inter are allegedly not prepared to meet Barcelona’s €35million option-to-buy but are set to enter negotiations with the Catalan club ahead of a possible transfer.
However West Ham, bolstered by a substantial transfer budget, could challenge Inter for the 25-year-old’s signature. Sport report that the Hammers sent representatives over to Barcelona recently but Rafinha would prefer to stay in Italy, where he has settled well.
Rafinha made 17 appearances for Inter this season, including five as a substitute. With an impressive pass accuracy of 89.5 per cent and picking up three man-of-the-match awards in his brief Serie A spell, he is a wanted talent. On average, Rafinha managed an average of 1.7 key passes, 1.2 long balls and 43.1 passes each game.
As Pellegrini looks to rebuild West Ham, Rafinha would surely be a coup for the East London side yet, with Inter in next season’s Champions League, they may struggle with their pursuit.
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