West Ham will have to pull out all of the stops if the club is to sign one of Manuel Pellegrini’s primary targets, as the Daily Mail are reporting that AS Roma are now the leading candidate to sign Guillermo Maripan.
The Chilean centre-back is considered to be one of the boss’ top targets for the summer as he looks to bolster the backline, having seen his options ravaged by injuries during his maiden campaign in East London.
Pellegrini even made efforts to target his compatriot in the January window, but to no avail, as the 6-foot-4 defender stayed put in La Liga with Alaves, where he has made 24 appearances in all competitions this season.
There were other clubs linked in January, as well, with his agent offering his services to FC Barcelona, who told Marcelo Contreras at the time that they would monitor his progress over the remainder of the term.
The Catalan giants’ interest has been very quiet since, but there has been a lot of noise coming out of Italy, with Roma stealing a march on the player’s situation to meet with Alaves’ representatives to discuss the potential of the 24-year-old moving to the Serie A.
How much a move would cost has not yet been claimed, but Alaves are not in any hurry to sell, as Maripan’s current contract at the Mendizorrotza Stadium does not expire until 2021.
Whoever wins the race, though, will be acquiring a promising defender, as the 11-cap international has recorded 46 successful tackles and 39 interceptions in his La Liga outings this season, while winning 91 of his 126 aerial duels.
