West Ham United set to rival Tottenham Hotspur for Kylian Mbappe's former roommate - journalist
07/05/2024 14:45
West Ham United are set to rival Tottenham Hotspur for the signing of an exciting French winger, according to a recent report.
The Hammers have announced that David Moyes will be leaving upon the end of his contract in June and Julen Lopetegui is the rumoured man to replace him.
Anyhow, despite the current uncertainty surrounding Moyes’ successor, the club are clearly eager to get a head start on the fast-approaching summer transfer window and have identified a target.
Following Said Benrahma’s Janaury departure to Marseille, it’s become pretty evident that the East Londoners need a left-sided wide player.
West Ham target Armand Lauriente
West Ham have joined Tottenham in the race to sign Sassuolo winger Armand Lauriente, according to Mirko Di Natale.
Lauriente has netted five goals whilst laying on as many assists in Serie A this term and is also being monitored by Juventus.
The former France under-21 international was Kylian Mbappe’s roommate during their time together at the prestigious Clairefontaine academy.
He is one of the fastest players in Italy and speaking last year, he admitted that he doesn’t need trickery to beat a defender because of it.
"I'm lucky in that I'm quite fast, so I don't need that many tricks to be able to beat my man," Lauriente said.
- READ MORE: West Ham have an ‘outstanding’ player out on loan who could save them millions this summer
Armand Lauriente would provide West Ham with something different
Lauriente has blistering pace and excels in one-versus-one battles with opposing full-backs, so he’d bring something totally unique to the Hammers’ attack.
According to FBref’s data, he is of a similar profile to Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, so he’s geared towards Premier League football.
Whilst Jarrod Bowen is evidently one of the best wingers in the league, he isn’t blessed with electric speed and out on the left, that notion is only amplified further.
So the potential addition of Lauriente would be a mouth-watering proposition for supporters, who have been displeased at times this season over Moyes’ pragmatic style of play.
With a Transfermarkt value of £10.3m, the club may be able to land his signature for a reasonable fee, so it seems a no-brainer of a deal.
