West Ham should not need to spend big money to bring Medel to the club

By Sam Preston

West Ham United have seen an offer rejected for experienced Besiktas midfielder Gary Medel, according to TalkSport.

They claim that Manuel Pellegrini has made an opening bid of £6.5m for the Chilean, who can play in defence as well, but it was knocked back by the Turkish outfit.

The report says that Pellegrini is desperate to sign a combative midfielder in the January transfer window and with Besiktas in a state of financial flux, he has spied an opportunity.

And while the Superliga side will apparently not sell on the cheap, Pellegrini should have confidence that he can engineer a deal without breaking the bank next month.

(Photo by Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images)

The report states that the financial situation at Besiktas is so bad that Pepe terminated his own contract before leaving the club, and with Medel being 31 years old, West Ham should not be held to ransom over the size of the fee.

Carlos Sanchez was underwhelming before his injury and the Colombian’s plight shows the pitfalls of Pellegrini’s seemingly preferred approach of signing aging players to anchor his midfield.

Medel still has his trademark tenacity but it remains to be seen whether he can cut it in the top flight in England, so Pellegrini should be in absolutely no rush to up his offer for the Chilean.