West Ham were willing to sign Athletic Bilbao defender Unai Nunez this month, according to AS (via Sport Witness), although the centre-back doesn’t want to leave Bilbao.
AS reported in December that the Hammers were keen on triggering Nunez’s release clause in order to bring him to the Premier League, with the report claiming that it would take a bid of €30million to sign the defender.
The 23-year old Spaniard has fallen down the pecking order for Bilbao this season, having only made eight La Liga appearances (WhoScored) with Inigo Martinez and Yeray preferred as starting centre-backs.
Football Insider reported in October that Everton were also interested in Nunez, and while various reports continued to claim the Toffees were keen, they never seemed as prepared to move for the Spain international as West Ham.
AS (via Sport Witness) now report though that Nunez is set to remain with the Basque club, and with Bayern Munich said to have him on their summer wish list, it would take something special for West Ham to land the Spaniard at a later date.
Read West Ham Verdict
West Ham would have benefitted from signing the 23-year old defender, despite some fans feeling as though the club are needlessly “throwing bids in everywhere” on deadline day.
The Spaniard, who was earmarked as a potential recruit for Manchester City earlier this month (MEN), would have brought a strong presence to the club’s defence, having been described as a ‘very strong’ blocker and interceptor of the ball by WhoScored. The defender’s 6.82 match rating is higher than all of West Ham’s current centre-back options, with Angelo Ogbonna having the highest average at 6.73.
While the Hammers would have liked to sign Nunez this month, they may now have to wait until the summer before they can make their move.
