West Ham are facing a real battle if they want to sign free agent defender Ezequiel Munoz.
The Argentine defender is now a free agent after his contract with Serie A side Palermo expired this summer. The 24-year-old signed for the club in August 2010 in a £3.5m deal from Boca Juniors.
Having failed to extend his contract in January, Palermo tried to sell Munoz to West Ham, as well as Tottenham and Newcastle but couldn’t agree a deal, and then loaned him out to Sampdoria, but he only made four appearances for the club. Former Palermo sporting director Giorgio Perinetti then revealed the centre-back would leave this summer.
“I met Munoz’s agent three times and offered pay rises higher that our usual to test the waters, but nothing came of it and the player will leave Palermo at the end of the year,” Giorgio Perinetti told Tuttomercatoweb.
Now a free agent, Munoz is being targeted by several clubs across Europe, including Swansea, AC Milan and Dynamo Moscow, while Sampdoria also hold interest in keeping the player next season.
More on the defender front, the Hammers are expected to complete a raid on Serie A, with Juventus’ Angelo Ogbonna on the verge of joining the club following a €12m bid. The player has said his goodbyes to his team-mates as well.
