According to a report by Gianluca Di Marzio, West Ham United are believed to be interested in signing Celta de Vigo pair Maxi Gomez and Stanislav Lobotka this summer.
Now, interest in Gomez is hardly a surprise as we have been linked with him for as long as many of us can remember, however, Lobotka is a rather intriguing one.
For those that do not know too much about him, Lobotka is a 24-year-old Slovakia international midfielder that has excelled for his club this season, despite battling bravely against relegation from La Liga all campaign.
He is a hugely combative individual who has been blessed with plenty of technical ability and is defensively sound when utilised in a deeper role on the field. According to Football.London, he made an average of 1.7 tackles per game and completed at least one interception per match.
Lobotka is the type of player that would fit the mould Manuel Pellegrini likes to have in his side as he has an exceptional ability to pass the ball to his team-mates. In Celta’s La Liga campaign, he managed a pass success rate of 89.2% (WhosScored).
Considering he is only 24, the Slovakian could be the ideal midfield partner for Declan Rice and provide West Ham with a solid central partnership for years to come.
He might not offer the creativity and the attacking dimension we would benefit from, however, he could sit alongside the England international in a 4-3-3 formation and allow Pellegrini to have a forward-minded individual play further up the pitch whilst having the reassurance that his backline is heavily protected.
