It’s hard to get away from the belief that the boss is a little fixated on midfielders – a position he confirmed by discussing various targets with the Chilean media.
And he has made it clear that he’s had eyes on several of the nation’s better operators and untypically has not been shy in naming one that he wanted at West Ham.
However, he gave up when the player made it clear he wasn’t interested in making the move and turned to other targets.
Pellegrini has been speaking to El Mercurio for their Sabado magazine, and was asked about signings Chileans.
He said: “I will not talk about conversations, but I can tell you that I would have loved to have many Chilean players who have been figures worldwide.
“In the past I took several: Salas, Rojas, Matías Fernández, Iturra, Moras; I have taken seven or eight Chilean players. I tried to take Aránguiz to West Ham, but he did not want to.”
Charles Aránguiz is a 30 year old midfielder currently playing for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
He certainly hasn’t been the subject of strong West Ham transfer claims, but if the plan ended after a chat with Pellegrini then the rumours probably didn’t have time to get going.
Aránguiz was linked with a move to Leicester City before he moved to Germany.
