Why Daniele Rugani would be a terrific addition for West Ham United
According to Daily Mail, West Ham United are one of the clubs to be interested in out of favour Juventus defender Daniele Rugani.
As per the report, Rugani looks to be out of new coach Andrea Pirlo’s plans and the Italian club are open to offers for him. Newcastle United are the other club who are in the race for the Italian.
Profile
Daniele Rugani is a 26-year-old Italian centre-back who plays for Serie A side Juventus. He started his youth career at Empoli in 2000 and moved to Juve’s youth team on loan in 2012. After a year, Rugani was drafted to the senior side at Empoli. He played a total of 81 games for them scoring 5 and assisting 2 goals. (h/t Transfermarkt)
Juventus signed him in 2015, but he is yet to establish himself as a regular for the Serie A champions. It is understandable that it isn’t easy to displace two of Europe’s best defenders, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.However, his development curve has not gone as expected and has somewhat plateaued after a certain point.
The additions of De Ligt and Demiral haven’t helped either. So far, he has made 101 appearances for them and scored 7 goals (h/t Transfermarkt).
Rugani has been a staple of the Italian youth teams and also has 7 appearances for the senior side.
Why he would be a good addition for the Hammers
West Ham have a decent stock of central defenders as things stand. However, Issa Diop is perhaps the only guaranteed starter and the spot next to him is surely up for grabs with Fabian Balbuena and Angelo Ogbonna not at the best of levels.
In addition, Ogbonna is well into his thirties and entering the final phase of his career at the highest level. Thus someone like Rugani would be a welcome addition to the side. At 26, Rugani is still very young for a defender.
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Verdict
West Ham should surely go ahead with this deal as Rugani would provide them with a great long-term option. His experience with a top team like Juventus would be an added bonus.
This is a deal that works for everyone involved. Juve can clear out a player who is on the periphery of the squad and a bit of the wage bill. West Ham would get a fairly promising defender for a long period of time. As for Rugani, he will get a fresh start to get his career back on the right track.
