Why West Ham must abandon their pursuit of Felipe Anderson to sign Andriy Yarmolenko
According to a report by Football London, West Ham United have abandoned their pursuit of Lazio ace Felipe Anderson to sign Borussia Dortmund sensation Andriy Yarmolenko. In fact, as per Football Italia, the Hammers have submitted a bid in the region of €20million to sign the Ukrainian.
Since Manuel Pellegrini took charge of the club, the Hammers have been enjoying good fortunes in the transfer window so far. But with negotiations for Anderson seemingly hitting a roadblock, perhaps West Ham should make an attempt to sign Yarmolenko instead.
Looking at his track record with the German giants so far, one might have their doubts about him. Yarmolenko completed a move to Signal Iduna from Dynamo Kyiv only last summer but since then, he failed to establish himself in the first-team setup.
In 26 appearances across competitions for Dortmund, Yarmolenko could only score 6 goals and provide 3 assists. Those are not bad numbers and they signify that he is talented enough to make a difference at the right club.
At 28 years of age, Yarmolenko boasts of ample experience. In fact, his exploits with Dynamo Kyiv were quite fruitful and perhaps he just needs the right environment to flourish. To that end, a move to West Ham could prove to be beneficial for him.
Manuel Pellegrini is known to employ hard-hitting, attacking tactics which lays a solid emphasis on surging forward to influence the game. And the player’s individual style of play would suit the boss’ tactics as well.
A winger by trade, the player usually plays on the right-wing. With Robert Snodgrass back at West Ham, Pellegrini could truly bolster the club’s forces by making a move to sign Yarmolenko as well. After a lacklustre season, the Hammers must focus on making a strong impact next season.
Snodgrass put in some impressive displays while on loan with Aston Villa, meaning he should do well for West Ham as well. And with a player like Yarmolenko in the mix, he would provide solid competition for the right-wing role.
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Hence, it seems like a great move for all parties involved. Dortmund have a good number of big names in their team and it comes as no surprise that Yarmolenko has struggled to get things going for himself. But at West Ham, he would receive a brilliant opportunity to revive his career and make an impact in the Premier League. Thus, perhaps the Hammers should abandon their pursuit of Anderson and sign Yarmolenko instead.
