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Pellegrini set for transfer market adjustment

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Manu Lanzini’s desperate injury will leave manager Manuel Pellegrini needing to reassess his transfer market requirements this summer.

The manager is believed to have wanted to bring in two central defenders  but the play maker’s injury means that some of the £75 million funds available will need to be diverted in that direction with Joao Mario becoming a serious option.

However, inflation in the transfer market means that the Portugal midfielder will cost in the region of £25m – three times the amount paid for Lanzini plus a bit, with wages of more than double the Argentinian.

Mario is available given Inter’s desire to move him on and his own comment that he has no wish to play at the club next season.

Pellegrini may now take the view that with Angelo Ogbonna, Winston Reid and Declan Rice available he will go for just the one central defender – with Swansea’s Alfie Mawson – who has already been the subject of one bid.

The Hammers are also likely to return with a bid for the relegated Welsh outfit’s goalkeeper Polish international Lukasz Fabianski (above right) who is in the last year of his contract and is keen to remain in the Premier League having told his club he wishes to move on.

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Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!"

Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

0 comments

  • johnham1 says:

    I have to say I can’t see any reason why we should bid for two players who were relegated last season. We will have a defense with Fredericks, mawson and fabianski. Sorry this sounds like a defense that will get us relegated. We have a left sided defender in ogbanna. Mawson has no pace. We need a centre half who can play in a back 4 or as a sweeper. As far as I am concerned nothing has changed, sullican is behind this, please will you step away from transfers. Do you not think you have done enough damage over the last few seasons.

  • aol says:

    Maybe Reece Oxford and Reece Burke could be given a chance?

  • telboy1975 says:

    ‘the Portugal midfielder will cost in the region of £25,000’ – a bargain – sign him up straight away. Er, unless we’ve got our thousands and millions mixed up again, of course.

  • Hammerkip says:

    Nothing against you hugh but if you have heard that from The club about manny and Mario and inflation of the market it’s sounds like the excuses and back tracking has started already…mari o is a no brainer even if manny didn’t get injured so if there struggling to pay 25mil for him wich is a fair price then God know s what will happen when going for the likjes of Anderson ..it dosnt look great to be honest..

  • West Ham Fan No 32 says:

    I don’t think Lanzini would have been with us next season with or without injury the shame is we won’t be boosting the transfer pot.

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