West Ham round-up: Fresh bid for right-back; stadium wins award; Costa praises Hammers

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With Slaven Bilic already beginning to consider his options for next season, TuttoMercatoWeb report that the Hammers are set to join Leicester City in scouting 20-year-old central defender Kevin Bonifazi. The Torino player is currently out on loan at Italian second division side SPAL 2013. The Italian has established himself as first choice of late in Serie B and is attracting attention from all over Europe despite SPAL possessing an option to buy him included in the loan deal.

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Sky Sports report that West Ham’s London Stadium has been awarded the Stadium of the Year award by DBStadiums in an award based on how innovative a stadium is, how it fits into its surroundings and how aesthetically pleasing it is. The award was given to the former Olympic Stadium after being judged to be the best candidate by a jury of experts, despite competition from the likes of Rapid Vienna’s Allianz Stadion, Udinese’s Dacia Arena, the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium and Besiktas’ Vodafone Arena alongside stark criticism from fans about their new home.

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However, Chelsea striker Diego Costa felt that the stadium made the difference as he scored the winning goal when the two sides met on Monday night, but the Spaniard has told ESPN Brazil, as translated by the Sun and ESPN:

“I think they feel it a lot. They are always a tricky team to play, it’s always difficult to win. On their pitch, every game was a tough game. Here, they feel it a little, because they were used to that stadium for years. To come to a field of this size, with the crowd further away, they can’t feel that heat and don’t have that precision. So I think that for us, or any other team that comes to play here, it’s a neutral field, because they’re not used to playing here, neither are we, so it’s a head-to-head match.”