West Ham appear to be facing a fight to land Alaves defender Guillermo Maripan.
No sooner did the news break yesterday that we are keen on the player than the Daily Mail reported that Roma are keen and have had talks with the player’s representatives.
Mind you, this is often par for the course when the story gets out with agents stirring the pot knowing that reports that two clubs are interested can force the price up.
And it needs to be remembered too that should the Hammers interest be real – as we believe it may be – Maripan could be attracted to working with his countryman Manuel Pellegrini.
The West Ham boss’ reputation in his own country is legendary and could easily be enough to sway any decision the giant central defender has to make.
The 24 year old came up through the ranks with Universidad Catolica in Chile, before his impressive displays earned him a move to Alaves in 2017.
