West Ham United were unable to force through a move for Gary Medel in January, but the Besiktas man could now be available in a cut-price deal, per Calciomercato.
The Italian publication are claiming that our former target is now on Lazio’s radar, and while the Super Lig side refused to even acknowledge our alleged €7million (£6m) offer in the winter market, they will now settle for €4.5m (£3.8m) as he is entering the final year of his current deal.
Ever since the January window closed, Medel has been reportedly eying an exit from Turkey with the London Stadium continually touted as a possible landing ground for the 31-year-old, as he was left angered by his current side refusing to contemplate his departure.
A move for his services in the summer would likely leave fans disappointed, though, as rather than continuing to bring young, gifted individuals to East London like Felipe Anderson and Issa Diop, he would be yet another experienced man adding little to the squad.
His 116-caps with Chile would not lead to a starting role in place of Declan Rice, and would be severely unlikely to challenge Mark Noble for the spot alongside Rice if Jack Wilshere cannot return from injury and hit the ground running.
Unfortunately, if club insider ExWHUemployee’s claim that £25million is all that we have to play with before sales is true, players like Medel may be all that the club can afford in the summer.
Sure, the Chilean international could add more depth to the midfield, but his signature would be like taking a step back after taking two steps forward.
