Remember a couple of weeks back, West Ham were linked via a couple of sources with a Serie A midfielder? Of course, the Potter story broke and we all forgot everything else for a while. The FA Cup defeat has focussed minds on the shortcomings – the need for a striker of course – but also how limited Edson Alvarez looked and how short on creativity the West Ham squad is. But there’s near zero in the transfer kitty so these part exchange deals look the only way that West Ham will be improving the squad in other areas of the pitch.
The continued absence of Emerson Palmieri does nothing to dampen down the speculation that the very ‘swap’ between West Ham and Juventus which was covered in so many reports may be gathering momentum.
Indeed, Ollie Scarles’ debut last night in Emerson’s role might have pushed this one forward, now that Graham Potter has seen his new youngster perform well enough to take centre stage in that position. If there is truth in the speculation that West Ham want to swap Emerson for Juventus’ midfielder Nicolo Fagioli then the field appears to be clear: According to a new report today in juvefc.com, the club are ‘struggling to get offers for players they want to sell’ – including Fagioli. Which could work perfectly to West Ham’s advantage.
Fagioli, not the fastest but :”Widely regarded as a technically talented player, with the ability to dictate play and contribute to a team’s midfield creativity. His skill level was recognised at the highest level when he earned a place in Italy’s squad for Euro 2024″.
I’d say Ollie Scarles’ superb debut just moved this one from ‘unlikely’ to ‘possible’. The longer Emerson remains absent without explanation, the more it’ll fuel the speculation.
