West Ham United are said to be in for Atalanta star Ruslan Malinovskyi once more, after failing to sign the Ukraine international in the last transfer window due to not wanting to meet Atalanta’s €50m (£43.6m) asking price.
That is according to a report from Calciomercato, relayed by Sport Witness, with the Hammers said to be among four clubs who are interested in signing the advanced midfielder in the upcoming January transfer window.
It is said that West Ham and Nottingham Forest, who are mentioned as rivals in the fight for his signature, have “already made contact” with the Italian outfit’s chief, Antonio Percassi.
As per the same report, it is mentioned that if both clubs can meet two factors, then a potential deal can be carried out in the winter market.
The first factor would see West Ham make an offer no less than €30m (£26.1m), so that the club can be convinced to part ways with the 29-year-old.
The second factor is dependent on whether the star would be happy to move to the proposed destination or not.
Essentially, the deal needs to please both the club and the player in order for the two parties to part ways.
Two factors
With Atalanta’s demands over Malinovskyi, it shows that the club clearly value him as an asset.
But, he’s struggled for game time this season, despite making 12 appearances for the club in the current Serie A campaign, and may seek pastures new.
If West Ham can meet both requirements to sign the star, they would be getting their hands on a progressive midfielder capable of garnering consistent attacking returns for what would be a cut-price deal.
Amidst his efforts in producing squad-topping metrics for the side across four different categories, equally split between attacking and defensive contributions, Malinovskyi is a star who is in around his prime years.
Coming off the back of a campaign that saw him achieve ten attacking returns in the form of six goals and four assists, he can achieve better than that, as proven in the past, and with a craving for more minutes, a move elsewhere seems logical.
At the London Stadium, he could shine under David Moyes, with the Hammers set to profit from his creativity via his average of 5.0 accurate long balls per 90, if they can make this move happen.
