Why West Ham would be smart to sign Adam Ounas this summer
According to claims from football website 90min (h/t MSN), West Ham have been offered the chance to sign Algerian winger Adam Ounas from Napoli in the summer transfer window.
As per the report, the Italian giants are looking to offload the 23-year-old after he was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Gennaro Gattuso. Napoli are trying to find suitors for Ounas, and West Ham are among a number of clubs contacted over a potential deal for the winger.
It has also been claimed that the Partenopei are looking for a fee in the region of £16million for the player, who has two years left to run on his present deal in Naples.
Profile
Born in France to parents of Algerian descent, Adam Ounas started his professional career with Bordeaux, featuring initially for the club’s reserve side before making the step up to the first-team during the 2015-16 season.
The 23-year-old managed decent returns of 10 goals and 6 assists in 60 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit, despite not being a regular starter, before earning a move to Napoli in the summer of 2017.
Ounas has struggled to establish himself in a prominent role at Napoli due to stiff competition for places, having started only 6 Serie A games so far. He has scored 5 times in 39 appearances for the Italian outfit, although a large majority of those outings have come as cameos from the bench.
The left-footed ace spent the second half of the 2019-20 campaign on loan at French club OGC Nice, where he impressed with 4 goals and 4 assists in 19 appearances.
Ounas could be a quality addition to West Ham’s attack
David Moyes’ desire to overhaul his squad has been well-documented throughout the summer after the Hammers finished 16th in the standings last season and somehow managed to beat the drop.
A report from the London Evening Standard towards the end of July claimed that the manager is keen to offload star attacking pair of Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini. Both players performed well below expectations in the PL last term, sharing only one goal among them.
The likes of Andriy Yarmolenko and Robert Snodgrass contributed with 5 goals apiece in the Premier League but endured a stop-start campaign last time around due to injuries. Meanwhile, Michail Antonio and January signing Jarrod Bowen ended the season on a positive note with a string of impressive displays.
The overall impression is that West Ham need to reshuffle their attacking options with more young and exciting players like Bowen coming through the door as Antonio, Yarmolenko, and Snodgrass are all on the wrong side of 30.
Adam Ounas is only 23 and still has his best years ahead of him, meaning the Algerian could be an excellent long-term investment for the Hammers. Essentially a right-winger by trade, Ounas is capable of playing on either side of the attack and also through the centre as an attacking midfielder behind the striker.
Ounas’ versatility is expected to boost Moyes’ squad dynamics while the Algerian also looks more than capable of improving the quality of West Ham’s creative lines. As per Whoscored, the 23-year-old averaged more key passes per game (1.6) than any of West Ham’s attackers, including big names like Lanzini, Fornals, and Anderson.
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Verdict
Adam Ounas might not have set the stage on fire at Napoli but his ability as a creative wizard certainly can’t be called into question.
West Ham should target some quality young players to boost their ranks after suffering a torrid time in the Premier League last term and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winner could just be the breath of fresh air that they need to get things back on track.
