Reports suggest that West Ham will revisit a potential deal for Ruslan Malinovskyi in the winter transfer window.
According to Italian reports, the Ukraine international was the subject of interest from the Hammers this summer, with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur also keeping an eye.
The 29-year-old is out of contract at Atalanta next summer, having moved to Serie A in 2019, and he has been involved in 57 goals in 134 appearances, emerging as a real threat from Gian Piero Gasperini’s midfield in an attack-minded role.
Lucas Paqueta was brought in for a club-record fee of £51m last monthand plays in a similar position but Calciomercato (via Goal) have said that the east London club will once again pursue the Ukrainian in January, with Nottingham Forest and Marseille also holding an interest.
Italian media outlet La Repubblica have suggested that there has been a fallout between Gasperini and the player, and if the problem persists, then the Hammers may look to take advantage.
Malinovskyi has been described as having a ‘stunning left foot’ by journalist Josh Bunting, and since the start of last season he has scored 11 goals and provided eight assists. Those figures suggest that he would certainly help with the problems that David Moyes’ side have been having in front of goal this season, scoring just three times in their opening six league games, the joint-lowest tally in the Premier League.
A stylistically similar player to Paqueta, Malinovskyi averaged more shot-creating actions per 90 than the Brazilian last season (FBref), along with a superior number of non-penalty goals and assists per 90 minutes (0.62 v 0.47).
Moyes does appear to have an abundance of options in attacking areas, with Said Benrahama, Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini at his disposal on top of Paqueta and forwards Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio, Maxwel Cornet and Gianluca Scamacca. However, bringing in Malinovskyi for the right price could prove a very shrewd pick-up, considering that he has played 18 times in the Champions League and is a 49-cap Ukraine international.
