West Ham Opinion: Signing Perisic won’t be a wise move for the Hammers
According to the Sun, West Ham have joined Arsenal, Man United and Spurs in the race to sign Ivan Perisic at the end of the season.
The 30-year-old Croatian stalwart has been on the radar of the north London giants for quite some time and reports claim that Manuel Pellegrini is keen to fork out £35million to bring the World Cup finalist to the London Stadium in the summer.
Perisic was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates in January and he even handed in a transfer request at Inter Milan to force through a move to join Arsenal but Unai Emery’s side couldn’t afford to pay his release clause. (h/t Sun)
However, a move to the Premier League looks very much on the cards for Perisic, with United, Arsenal, Spurs and now West Ham all fighting for his signature. The 30-year-old has enjoyed a decent run at the San Siro this season, accumulating 7 goals and 8 assists from 39 appearances in all competitions for the Nerazzurri.
In all honesty, Perisic is a top-quality player whose stocks have been on the rise since his heroics at the World Cup in Russia and he would be a good fit for any Premier League club. He is one of the household names in European football and his links with some of the top Premier League clubs come as little surprise.
While he would be a fantastic signing for the likes of Spurs and Arsenal, West Ham should give this move a second thought.
The Hammers do need to strengthen their forces to post a better challenge for a European place next season and a hugely experienced customer like Perisic certainly fits the bill but one thing that the east Londoners should take into account is his age.
Tactically speaking, Perisic would be a perfect fit for Manuel Pellegrini’s aesthetic football and a tailor-made addition to the club’s attacking ranks.
The Hammers currently do have much depth in their wide options and the Croatian’s versatility to play on either flank should definitely help their cause. He would be an instant upgrade on the likes of Robert Snodgrass and Grady Diangana and also push the likes of Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic for a place in the first-team.
However, West Ham already have plenty of ageing players in their squad. They have made a bad habit of signing ageing players based on their reputation who are already past their prime, as evident from the acquisition of Andriy Yarmolenko, Lucas Perez and Carlos Sanchez last summer.
Javier Hernández, Arnautovic, Andy Carroll, Winston Reid, Snodgrass, Pablo Zabaleta and Mark Noble are all aged roundabout 30 or above. Jack Wilshere doesn’t fall under either bracket but investing in the former Arsenal man has proven to be a huge blunder as the Englishman has spent more time on the treatment table than on the pitch.
Having spent a fortune last summer, the Hammers look set for another busy transfer window, and quite rightly so, as they need to bring in more quality players from across the continent to take their project under Manuel Pellegrini to the next level.
However, they also need to get rid of deadwood this summer and trim the squad which would help them to reduce the wage bills and accommodate fresh faces.
Perisic is undoubtedly an exceptional player but he is at a stage in his career where he is enjoying the last few years of his prime.
He scored 11 goals in each of his previous couple of seasons in the Serie A but he hasn’t been anywhere close to matching that fear this time around, having netted only 6 goals in the league so far.
These stats are enough to show that hasn’t been at the top of his game this season and investing in him would not necessarily be the best possible option for the Hammers.
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West Ham should start planning for the long term and build a platform for continued success, with Pellegrini at the helm of affairs Shelling out £35 million for a 30-year-old makes little sense for a team that already has a squad littered with ageing players.
Splashing the cash on younger players should be the way forward for the club and they would be better off looking at other targets to bolster their ranks.
