Fabrizio Romano has claimed on his Here We Go podcast that West Ham had a loan offer rejected for Argentina international and Cagliari striker Giovanni Simeone turned down – and explains the reason for that rejection.
West Ham were strongly linked with numerous players in the January window, as they looked to bring in a replacement for Ivory Coast international Sebastian Haller following his move to Ajax. They failed to so, though.
Indeed, they had an offer turned down for Sevilla’s Youssel En-Nesyri among others – as well as being linked with Josh King, who eventually joined Everton in the final moments of deadline day. Romano says another was targeted.
Simeone, who is the son of Atletico Madrid boss Diego, was the subject of a loan offer worth an initial £900,000 – but a move broke down as Cagliari wanted an obligation to buy, something the Hammers were unwilling to do.
“A possibility for West Ham was Giovanni Simeone,” Romano said. “He plays for Cagliari, but he is not having a good season. West Ham were offering a loan with an option to buy, and they offered €1 million as loan fee.
“But Cagliari said no just because he is their starter. They said no to a loan and wanted an obligation to buy, but West Ham said no and it collapsed, but he was one of the possibilities for West Ham.”
TBR’s view – Simeone has been poor this season
Just five goals have come in 18 appearances for Cagliari. Simeone is more of an all-round striker, not specifically specialising in speed, strength, heading or technical ability – but being decent in all of those areas.
He has a decent enough record in Italy, just one goal away from netting a half-century in Serie A – but it has taken him 164 appearances to reach that figure, for the likes of Genoa, Fiorentina and Caglairi. West Ham can do better.
