West Ham United are ‘in contact’ to sign free agent Adnan Januzaj, according to reputable journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The lowdown: Moyes favourite
Handed a Manchester United debut under current Irons manager David Moyes back in 2013, the Belgian burst onto the scene, scoring twice on his first competitive start for the Red Devils, and he appeared to have every chance of becoming a smash hit at Old Trafford.
However, the 27-year-old was sent out on loan to Borussia Dortmund soon after and then reunited with Moyes at Sunderland for another temporary spell away from Manchester.
Januzaj then signed for Real Sociedad, where he directly contributed to 44 goals in 168 outings before being released as a free agent this summer…
The latest: Another chance under Moyes?
Taking to Twitter, Romano has claimed that West Ham are ‘in contact’ with the 15-cap ace regarding a move to east London, with the player waiting on a decision from the Premier League club.
Alongside detailing a possible swoop for Lucas Paqueta deal, the Italian stated: “West Ham are also in contact with Adnan Januzaj – but he’s waiting for club decision.”
The verdict: No-brainer
Signing a player of Januzaj’s proven quality for nothing – with nearly 300 senior club appearances encompassing the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga along with the Europa League – is a no-brainer for the Hammers, particularly with Moyes clearly in need of additional strength in depth within the squad ahead of another European group stage campaign.
Last season, the skilful Belgian – who was hailed as a ‘very special’ performer by reporter David Cartlidge – earned a 6.81 SofaScore rating whilst winning 3.8 duels, completing 1.4 dribbles and making one key pass per La Liga outing, highlighting impressive recent form at the highest level.
His dribbling average matched that of the Irons’ three best performers for that metric in 2021/22, which suggests that Januzaj would make the team even more adept at beating opponents one-on-one. Indeed, it places him in the top 7% among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues over the past 12 months.
Sharing similar stylistic traits to the likes of Raphinha, Lucas Moura and Cengiz Under (FBRef), landing the £10.8m-valued man for free could prove to be one of the deals of the summer should GSB get it over the line.
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