West Ham should splash £33m to beat London rivals Arsenal and sign this MLS midfield sensation

West Ham should beat Arsenal to secure the services of Miguel Almiron

According to Plymouth Herald, Atlanta United playmaker Miguel Almiron finds himself in the middle of a transfer tussle between Arsenal and West Ham.

Arsenal had shown an interest in the Paraguayan before and were prepared to pay £11 million to secure his services but the Hammers are willing to dish out a whopping £33million to land the creative midfielder. (h/t Ultima Hora)

The 24-year-old has caught the eye of the Premier League clubs with a series of impressive performances in the Major League Soccer. Almiron registered as many as 12 goals and 11 assists from 32 appearances in the MLS this term, picking up 10 man of the match awards and establishing himself as a hot property in the United States top division.

Manuel Pellegrini took over the reins from David Moyes as the manager of West Ham and the Chilean was given plentiful funds to bolster the squad in the summer.

As a result, West Ham made as many as nine signings in the summer and made the headlines with the mega-money signings of Issa Diop, Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson. Jack Wilshere, Fabian Balbuena and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski were the other notable arrivals at the London Stadium.

However, the recruitment of so many new faces dealt a huge blow to the team dynamics. West Ham had a disastrous start to the season, losing four games in a row. The players found it difficult to adapt to the Premier League and the team lacked that sense of cohesion in all areas of the pitch.

Having lost their first four games, Manuel Pellegrini played a masterstroke and reinstated 19-year-old Declan Rice in central midfield as a shield for the rearguard.

It was largely due to the Irishman’s exploits that West Ham turned their fortunes around with victories over Manchester United and Everton. The West Ham flags were flying high after three positive results on a trot but back-to-back defeats at the hands of Brighton and Spurs once again brought the fans down to earth.

To be honest, West Ham have one of the most potent attacking forces outside the top six in the Premier League. However, they lack a creative midfielder to act as a link between the attack and the defence.

Mark Noble is a good central midfielder who is adept at breaking up the play. However, he lacks the ability to spark creativity in the final third. Pedro Obiang is capable of operating as a deep-lying playmaker but he has been rather inconsistent this season.

As things stand, West Ham need a creative attacking midfielder to influence proceedings in the midfield. And a multifaceted midfielder who can play in a No.10 role as well as in the wide position will do a world of good to the team dynamics.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have a lot of creative midfielders in Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Danny Welbeck. However, the contract situations of Welbeck and Ramsey have forced the Gunners to look for new recruits.

Miguel Almiron is a fast, agile and sharp creative midfielder who is most suited to playing in a playmaker’s role behind the striker.

Standing at 5ft. 9 inches, he is neither the most physically imposing player on the pitch nor is he good at heading the ball from set-pieces but he has that ability to light up the stadium with mesmerizing dribbling skills and lightning pace. He combines his sound technique with his low centre of gravity to bamboozle the defenders with sharp turns and silky dribbling skills.

Blessed with wonderful vision, he is adept at spotting the runs of his teammates in the final third and his remarkable presence of mind and tactical awareness make him an important component of the midfield.

Furthermore, he is a potent counter-attacking threat and likes to cut inside from the wide areas. Also, he has a delightful left foot which is not only adept at curling the ball from set-pieces but can also find the net with powerful shots from range.

Hence, the presence of someone like Almiron will ensure a lot of supply for the likes of Marco Arnautovic and Felipe Anderson. In fact, he will be a good cover for the injured Andriy Yarmolenko.

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West Ham will need to improve considerably if they are to finish in the top ten this season. They need a creative midfielder to strengthen their attack and Miguel Almiron would be a good choice for that purpose. That said, they should table a massive bid to beat Arsenal and have the final say in this transfer tussle.