According to Daily Mail, Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham United are in contact with FC Porto over the possible signing of Moussa Marega. The Portuguese giants rate the striker in the region of £22million. Here’s why their Premier League rivals Southampton must hijack the deal.
The Hammers are in talks that could see the 27-year-old move to London Stadium after impressing last season. West Ham fans will have fond memories of his agent, Mark McKay. After all, he was the man who engineered Dimitri Payet’s move from Marseille before he went to light up the Premier League with his free kicks.
Marega, a 13-time capped Mali international, played a key role as Porto clinched the Liga NOS title last season. The target man scored 22 goals and assisted 4 in 29 Portuguese top-flight matches.
Marega mainly can play a wide array of roles in the forward line, making him a tantalizing prospect for Southampton. Moving to London Stadium would see him competing against the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and Felipe Anderson to start in Pellegrini’s XI.
Considering the fact that Mark Hughes’ charges only scored 37 goals in 38 Premier League games last season, Southampton must make a move for Marega. The Saints shipped in 56 goals and narrowly survived a relegation scare in the previous term.
There will be growing concern among Southampton fans as the club drew blanks in a recent 3-0 pre-season hammering by Championship side Derby County. Furthermore, no Southampton player hit double digits last season. Charlie Austin almost single-handedly kept the south-coast side in the Premier League, scoring seven goals despite starting only 10 top-flight games.
Southampton must bolster their attack if they are to stay in the Premier League beyond next season. Both Manolo Gabbiadini and Shane Long struggled to hit the back of the net regularly. To that end, signing Marega could prove to be an inspired move, considering his versatility.
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The Saints must keep their options open but at the same time, they must do everything they can to hijack West Ham’s move for Marega. He will add a new dimension to Southampton’s front line in the near future.
