West Ham supporters in the Transfer Tavern are very much looking forward to a new era at their football club following the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as the new Hammers manager last month.
The Chilean takes over from David Moyes in the London Stadium hotseat following the Scot’s departure at the expiration of his contract, this all despite leading the East London outfit to Premier League safety this term with a 13th place finish. However, the club’s hierarchy decided against extending his stay as manager, and have instead drafted in former Manchester City chief Pellegrini, who of course led the Citizens to the league title back in 2014, and indeed two League Cup triumphs during his spell at the Etihad Stadium.
Subsequently, there are many excited West Ham fans in the Tavern at present, several of whom are likely to be intrigued by recent reports linking their club with a move for Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina.
And were the Hammers to indeed seal a deal for the £13.5 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt), it would solve a key problem at the club in those central midfield ranks.
Ultimately, the middle of the park has been something of an issue at the London Stadium in recent times, what with Cheikhou Kouyate often struggling for form, and Pedro Obiang spending the majority of the 2017/18 campaign on the sidelines with injury.
Mark Noble deserves credit for consistently performing well in the centre of midfield, but it’s clear that if the East London club are to move to the next level under Pellegrini, they have to address the problems in that department.
And there is little doubting that Lemina’s arrival, were they to secure a deal for the Gabon international, would go some way to solving that problem.
The 24-year-old only moved to Southampton last summer after a spell at Italian giants Juventus, and he turned out to be a rare bright spark in an otherwise disappointing campaign for the South Coast club, who only just avoided Premier League relegation.
The midfielder appeared 24 times for the Saints this season and earned many rave reviews along the way for his efforts in the middle of the park, be it his ability to get up and down the pitch and affect things in both boxes, or indeed being able to break up play as well as getting on the ball to help launch attacks.
Ultimately, the Hammers are crying out for some industry in the midfield area, and with the huge amount of talent they have going forward in the likes of Marko Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini, having someone like Lemina just behind to control and dominate the midfield is needed for the aforementioned duo to go on and produce the goods.
Thus, Pellegrini would without doubt solve a key problem area at West Ham if he can secure a deal for the Southampton midfielder this summer.
West Ham fans… what do you think? Let us know!
