West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena is planning on extending his stay at the London Stadium with contract renewal talks imminent, according to a report from La Lazio Siamo Noi (via Sport Witness).
There had been doubts as to whether the Paraguay international would seek pastures new at the end of the season, having fallen out of favour under David Moyes. However, the 29-year-old has acted to dispel speculation over his future, playing downreported links with Lazio during an interview with Versus Radio, as relayed by the Italian publication.
He is quoted as saying: ”I never received anything from Lazio, I only read the rumours on social media, certainly, in the coming days we will sit down with the management to talk about it, West Ham have an option to renew.”
West Ham signed Balbuena from Brazilian side Corinthians in 2018 and the 14-cap international has since represented the Hammers on 59 occasions. The centre-back’s contract will expire this summer and, up until now, it had seemed unclear whether he would remain with the Irons.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
Earlier this season it seemed as though Balbuena, who made 12 Premier League appearances in the first half of the campaign, would almost certainly be set to stay in east London. Partnering Angelo Ogbonna amid a superb start to the season, the experienced Paraguayan looked to have returned anew for this campaign.
However, those performances have paled into insignificance lately, having lost his place to Craig Dawson and more recently Issa Diop.
Should Balbuena stay beyond this season, there could be question marks over Dawson’s permanent stay as well as any centre-half recruitment possibilities in the summer.
