West Ham have entered 2019 in a superb vein of form after bouncing back from a tough start of the season to boast a run of just one defeat in their last nine matches across all competitions.
The Hammers have benefitted from Manuel Pellegrini’s spending spree in the summer, where over £100m was spent to bring the likes of Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena and Felipe Anderson to the London Stadium.
However, there is still room for improvement and Calcio Mercato suggests Pellegrini is looking to add experience to his defensive line with a swoop for 30-year-old Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia.
Capped 21 times by Italy, Ranocchia is yet to play a single minute for Inter in Serie A this season and earned a total of just 11 appearances last term – which shows he is likely to be considered to be surplus to requirements at the San Siro.
Ranocchia would not necessarily be a guaranteed starter at West Ham but would add further depth to the heart of Pellegrini’s defence, which may be crucial as Angelo Ogbonna continues to be linked with an exit away from the club – with Sky Sport Italia, via Football Italia, stating he has rejected Bologna.
On top of Ranocchia’s experience at international level, Ranocchia has also featured in the Premier League for Hull City in 2017 where he scored twice in 16 appearances for the Tigers, under the guidance of Marco Silva, but could not save the club from relegation.
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