With Pablo Fornals signed, it seems odd for West Ham to remain in the market for a creative midfielder, but the rumour mill has its ways of surprising us.
Sky Sports News reported earlier this month that the Hammers were in talks to sign Marseille midfielder Morgan Sanson for a reported €35 million (£31.4 million), and now rumours of a move for the French playmaker have resurfaced via Le Foot 10, who claim the Ligue 1 side are desperate to sell the playmaker before the 30th June.
The report quotes that West Ham are ‘especially’ interested in the 24-year-old playmaker, who has made over 100 appearances for Marseille, and although Fornals has been signed this summer, Sanson could also be a good signing for the Irons, even with the arrival of the Spanish playmaker.
For starters, the two players are both different types of midfielders, with Fornals largely playing as a number 10 for Villarreal last season whilst Sanson operated as a central midfielder based on positional starts from Transfermarkt, yet despite this the French playmaker actually scored more goals than the Spanish U-21 international with five strikes compared to the West Ham man’s three.
Comparing the two midfielders on WhoScored as well, Sanson averaged more passes per game at 39.1 compared to Fornals’ 32.3 as well as making more long passes per game at 3 to the Spaniard’s 1.5.
Partnered alongside Declan Rice in a 4-2-3-1, a formation Manuel Pellegrini used 12 times last season, with Fornals acting as the number 10, and West Ham could have an impressive midfield that has the perfect balance of creativity and goalscoring prowess as well as potentially the more defensive presence of Rice, operating in a deeper role as he did 24 times last season.
West Ham fans, would Sanson be a good signing? Let us know!
