Tuesday night’s game against West Bromwich Albion sure was an emotional night for the City fans that turned out at the Etihad.
The Citizen faithful saw their side give modern day club legend, Pablo Zabaleta a real big send off with a 3-1 win against the West Midlands side, thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus, Kevin de Bruyne and Yaya Toure.
After the match, a huge send off was given to the Argentine as a thanks for being a huge part of what has possibly been the most progressive part of Manchester City.
The talk in the Tavern has now turned to where Zabaleta will end up next and the common view is that veteran right back won’t actually be leaving the Premier League, with rumours circulating that he is on his way to East London by joining West Ham United.
Our landlord believes this could be a fantastic move for Slaven Bilic’s men who have been relatively poor defensively this season, and the experience of Zabaleta combined with a defence already containing Jose Fonte and Winston Reid could really shore things up for the Hammers.
Though the Irons in the Tavern are relatively satisfied with attempts to sign Zabaleta, they feel more is needed to be done in the transfer market in order to turn things around following a dismal season for the Hammers.
They have been looking across the news and cast their view on TWO other players that may join Zabaleta at West Ham for next season….
Michy Batshuayi
There is no doubt that Batshauyi put himself in the shop window following his two performances over the weekend, and the Hammers are reportedly confident of landing the Belgium striker on an initial £3 million loan with a view of paying £25 million to make the deal permanent.
Furthermore, West Ham have struggled with Andy Carroll’s luck with injuries and Batshuayi signing would show a real strength in depth that Slaven Bilic simply has not had in the forward position this season.
Our landlord believes this could be a move that benefits both the Hammers and Batshuayi as he looks to gain more first team football.
Jermain Defoe
The forward rumours don’t end at Batshuayi as Sunderland striker, Jermain Defoe is also said to ‘prefer’ to move back to West Ham where it all began for him.
This is according to former Hammers striker and Sky Sports pundit, Tony Cottee.
Our landlord isn’t surprised that many strikers are being linked with the Hammers following the sub-par performances of Jonathan Calleri and Ashley Fletcher for Slaven Bilic’s men this season, meaning that the centre forward position is something that really needs to strengthened this summer.
Of course, Defoe isn’t getting any younger but guaranteed goals and no transfer fee – this could be a no brainer for Bilic in this transfer window.
