Why West Ham should make a move for Sampdoria’s Ronaldo Vieira
According to The Athletic (h/t Daily Star), West Ham are interested in signing Sampdoria midfielder Ronaldo Vieira this month. In fact, West Ham boss David Moyes watched the midfielder in action during Sampdoria’s clash against Sassuolo on Sunday.
Capped by England at under-21 level, Ronaldo Vieira, 23, started out at Benfica and then joined Leeds United, for whom he made 71 senior appearances. He left Leeds for Sampdoria in 2018 for just £7m. The midfielder has produced some impressive performances for the Serie A side this season, featuring in 20 appearances across all formats.
The report (h/t Daily Star) adds that West Ham co-owner David Sullivan and manager Moyes are big fans of Vieira and he could be signed for a fee of just £17m but Burnley also remain interested in the midfielder.
West Ham currently sit 17th in the table, having won just one of their last five Premier League fixtures. David Moyes has a lot of work to do to help his team avoid top-flight relegation. He must bring in new players this month and having strengthened the goalkeeping department by re-signing Darren Randolph, the Scotsman should turn his attention towards his midfield.
The Hammers are desperately short in the central midfield department. Declan Rice has blown hot and cold this campaign, although he has been a regular fixture. What Rice has lacked is a reliable partner in central midfield.
Mark Noble will turn 33 in May, declining as he gets older. Neither Carlos Sanchez nor Jack Wilshere has set the world alight since arriving at the London Stadium in the summer of 2018. Plus, the east London outfit sold Pedro Obiang to Sassuolo this past summer but failed to replace him before the start of the season.
Thus, there’s a lot of room for improvement as far as West Ham’s midfield is concerned and Moyes should recruit Ronaldo Vieira as quickly as possible.
According to WhoScored, in 18 Serie A games this season, Vieira has averaged 36.4 passes per match with an impressive completion rate of 82.8%. He has also averaged 1.2 key passes and 1 assist during that period. The former England youth international has averaged 1.5 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 0.1 blocks and 1.4 clearances.
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Noble, West Ham’s senior midfielder, has averaged 46.8 passes per match with a solid completion rate of 82.9%. He has also averaged 0.6 key passes and 1 assist in 20 league appearances. The Hammers’ skipper has averaged 1.6 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 0.1 blocks and 0.4 clearances. [Courtesy: WhoScored]
Verdict
When compared, Vieira might not be an immediate upgrade over Noble but he would fit into Moyes’ team which has lacked a young and powerful presence alongside Rice in the heart of the West Ham midfield. With just a few days left for the transfer window to slam shut, the Hammers must quickly wrap up a deal for the 23-year-old midfielder.
