This summer is looking like being a big one at The London Stadium. Pablo Fornals has joined (BBC), Sebastien Haller then followed (BBC), and now Manuel Pellegrini looks to be trying to free up some more funds, as Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Sassuolo are close to signing Pedro Obiang.
The 27-year-old midfielder has been at West Ham for four years now, yet it looks like Pellegrini is ready to move him on after just one year of working together, a year in which Obiang only played the full 90 minutes in seven of the Irons’ 38 Premier League games, Transfermarkt.
Considering how few times the Spanish-born midfielder played out a full 90 minutes in the top flight last season, he’s not justifying his £55,000 per week wages, wages that are seeing him earn more than Fabian Balbuena, Ryan Fredericks and Aaron Cresswell at the club (Spotrac).
The midfield department is also very full at the moment. Fornals’ signing made him Pellegrini’s seventh central midfield option, alongside Declan Rice, Mark Noble, Carlos Sanchez, Jack Wilshere, Manuel Lanzini and Obiang, albeit with some playing in more advanced or deeper roles.
However, that’s a lot of players for not a lot of positions on the pitch, and Obiang bringing in a fee of around 9m euros, which is what Di Marzio reports, is a more than healthy figure when you factor in his wages, that equates to around £2.86m per annum.
Whether or not the Equitorial Guinea international would be replaced or not is yet to be seen, but this is just yet another step in the right direction for Manuel Pellegrini. Bayer Leverkusen’s Charles Aranguiz has been linked with a move to West Ham by German outlet Bild, via Sport Witness, so a replacement may well be lined up for the departing Obiang.
Pellegrini will likely look to bring in a few more outfield players this summer after Haller and Fornals, and moving a few players on like Obiang could be the catalyst for one or two more deals to take place at the club, making his exit a big step in the right direction.
