According to the Sun, West Ham have revived their interest in Inter Milan’s Italian international winger Antonio Candreva.
The Hammers were interested in securing the services of the 31-year-old in the summer but they chose to invest in Felipe Anderson instead. (h/t Sun)
Candreva, who is rated at £10million by the Narazurris, has fallen out of favour at the San Siro and has been told that he does not feature in manager Luciano Spaletti’s plans. (h/t Sun)
The 31-year-old, who has 57 caps for Italy at the senior level, has started only 4 games in the Serie A this term and his playtime has reduced significantly since the end of September. A product of Ternana, Candreva played for his boyhood club, Udinese, Parma, Juventus and Cesena before joining Lazio in 2013. It was at Lazio that he took his career to greater heights, accumulating 45 goals and 45 assists from 192 appearances for the club.
Candreva made his move to Inter in 2016 and has racked up 9 goals and 19 assists for the Nerazzuris. However, he has fallen out of favour this term due to his lacklustre performances in the previous campaign.
The 31-year-old is a technically gifted and tactically versatile midfielder who is primarily a right-footed right-winger by trade but he has been used on the left and through the centre in the attacking third over the course of his distinguished career. Candreva is also adept at playing as a central midfielder in front of the back four due to his defensive awareness and distribution abilities.
Granted, the Italian international has had a wonderful career in the Serie A and is capable of adding value to any mid-table club in the Premier League with his well-rounded attributes. The long list of injuries might have prompted Manuel Pellegrini to revive his interest in the seasoned campaigner but Candreva, at 31, is not the same player that he was in his younger days.
West Ham spent a fortune in the summer to bring in as many as nine new players. However, their campaign has been blighted to a large extent by injuries to several of their new arrivals, with Andriy Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere all making their way to the injury table one by one.
As a matter of fact, West Ham have enough depth in their squad to push for a top-ten finish and someone like Candreva won’t add anything extra to their resources. Undoubtedly, it would be difficult for a player who has played for years in the Serie A to adapt to the dynamic and physical nature of English football.
Even though Manuel Lanzini and Yarmolenko are unlikely to play a part this season, they are expected to be an integral part of the team in the upcoming campaign. Moreover, West Ham have the services of Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio, both of whom are capable of playing in multiple positions.
Hence, the inclusion of Antonio Candreva goes against all logic and reason. West Ham would only increase their wage bill by signing the 31-year-old and having such a big squad would only increase Pellegrini’s selection dilemmas. The Italian’s arrival might also prove to be detrimental to the progress of the highly-rated academy product Grady Diangana.
That said, Pellegrini should forget about Candreva and look at other options to bolster his attack.