West Ham United are reportedly interested in Atlanta United’s Miguel Almiron.
West Ham United were busy in the summer transfer window, but are also expected to make moves in January to bolster Manuel Pellegrini’s squad after a patchy opening to the season.
The Hammers are being linked with players ahead of January, and one link emerged in the Argentinian media on Monday afternoon, surrounding Atlanta United star Miguel Almiron.
TyC Sports in Argentina reported that Atlanta United want to sign River Plate playmaker Gonzalo Martinez as a replacement for Almiron, because there’s a belief that he will be heading to West Ham in January.
The Express recently claimed that Paraguayan international Almiron is set for Arsenal in a £13million move, so West Ham landing him would be a major coup, and an immediate boost for Pellegrini in January.
The 24-year-old has hit 12 goals and 13 assists in 2018, and would certainly help West Ham from a creative standpoint, especially with winger Andriy Yarmolenko now out for the majority of the season.
Almiron has devastating pace through the middle of the pitch and has proven himself as a creator and goalscorer in Major League Soccer, giving West Ham the thrust they need in the centre ahead of defensive-minded midfielders like Declan Rice, Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang.
However, Pellegrini would have a problem somewhere down the line, as Almiron’s best position is as a No. 10 – but the same can be said of Argentinian talent Manuel Lanzini, who will be looking to feature at some point in 2019 having been ruled out for months with a serious knee injury.
Jamming both Almiron and Lanzini into the same team may be a problem for Pellegrini, and whilst you can never have too much talent in your squad, Pellegrini may have to juggle the two South American talents should a deal for Almiron go through.
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