Why West Ham signing Amadou Diawara would bolster their midfield
According to claims from Italian outlet Forza Roma (h/t Leicestershire Live), West Ham are among the Premier League clubs interested in signing AS Roma midfielder Amadou Diawara next summer.
Leicester City are also understood to retain an interest in the 23-year-old, who had been linked with Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle United in the past. Diawara is currently down the pecking order at the Stadio Olimpico and Roma could entertain offers in the region of €25million for the Guinean international in January. (Forza Roma h/t Leicestershire Live)
Profile
Amadou Diawara completed his footballing education at Syli Authentic and FC Sequence in his native Guinea before beginning his professional career with San Marino in the Italian third-tier during the 2014-15 season. He did enough to earn a move to the top-flight with Bologna in the following summer after enjoying an impressive debut campaign in the Serie A.
The 23-year-old was snapped up by Napoli in 2016 and Diawara went on to spend three full seasons with the Partenopei, featuring 74 times in all competitions. He switched boats to join domestic rivals Roma last summer, starting 19 times in the league for the Giallorossi in the previous campaign.
Diawara, though, has found himself out of favour at the Italian capital this term, starting only once in the league so far. He has missed several games after testing positive for Covid-19 in October and could be set for an early exit from Rome in January.
Diawara would offer West Ham long-term stability in midfield
Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice have been the go-to central midfield pairing for West Ham boss David Moyes in the Premier League this season. Both players have contributed greatly to the club’s promising start to the campaign, with the Hammers currently sitting 8th in the standings with 14 points from 9 games so far.
However, the Hammers’ squad depth will surely be tested later on in the campaign when the fixtures start to come thick and fast. Mark Noble and Robert Snodgrass, both 33, are the only specialist alternatives available at Moyes’ disposal in the central midfield department.
With both players nearing their twilight and also out of contract at the London Stadium next summer, West Ham definitely need to start lining up some replacements.
Moreover, West Ham have lost the likes of Pedro Obiang, Jack Wilshere, Carlos Sanchez and Edimilson Fernandes in the engine room in recent times without bringing in too many players to replace the departed figures. Hence, it is certainly an area that requires some immediate investment.
To put things into perspective, it should be an absolute no-brainer for West Ham to complete a deal for Amadou Diawara in January or next summer. The Guinean international boasts a lot of experience under his belt for a player aged just 23, having already made more than 100 career appearances in the Serie A for Bologna, Napoli and Roma.
Essentially a defensive midfielder by trade, Diawara has often been profiled as a midfield destroyer who excels with his work rate and ability to win possession back for his team. His heat map in the Serie A last season further lies testament to those claims.
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Verdict
Amadou Diawara looks more than capable of challenging the likes of Rice and Soucek for a spot in West Ham’s midfield in the coming seasons, with Noble and Snodgrass nearing the end of their contracts. The 23-year-old still has his best years ahead of him, thus making him well worth a significant outlay for the Hammers in the market.
