According to reports in The Sun, West Ham United are closing in on their eighth signing of a brilliant summer after agreeing a £20m with Lille to sign defensive midfielder Thiago Maia.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Sun says that the 21-year-old is poised to move to the London Stadium after a fee was agreed between the two clubs, which would take Irons boss Manuel Pellegrini’s summer spending to more than £100m.
The Sun says that the deal will bring an end to the Chilean’s summer-long search for a new defensive midfielder, which has been ramped up following Cheikhou Kouyate’s departure to Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
The report adds that the Brazilian was actually used in more of an attacking role by the Ligue 1 outfit last term, and he is looking forward to returning to a holding role which took him to the brink of his national team just one year ago.
Would he be a good signing for West Ham?
He certainly would be for Pellegrini, who has been urged to re-sign a £20.7m star by fans on Twitter, and his potential new teammates.
The 21-year-old is something of an all-round midfielder according to stats-based website WhoScored, which lists his strengths as his ability to block and intercept the ball, his passing and his dribbling.
He impressed by making 60 interceptions during 34 Ligue appearances last term, while he successfully completed 41 of the 52 dribbles he attempted.
While he may not be the most physical defensive midfielder as he stands at 5ft 10 in tall, it is a sign that the east London outfit are starting to move away from physical players like Kouyate and Pedro Obiang by bringing in more technical players like him and Jack Wilshere, as they look to play ‘The West Ham way’.
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