West Ham are fighting for stability in the Premier League this season and progress has been slow in the early months of Manuel Pellegrini’s reign in East London.
The Hammers splashed over £100m in the summer to bolster their squad but options in the middle of the park have been depleted following injuries to Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez – both of whom were amongst the wealth of summer acquisitions.
That has left some fans wondering what might have been and plenty have been impressed by the displays of Joao Mario for Inter Milan, after the Portugal international fought back from the fringes at the San Siro to make an impression.
Mario spent the second half of last season on loan with the Hammers, scoring two goals in 13 Premier League appearances, but West Ham decided against pursuing a permanent deal for the 25-year-old.
After shining in Inter’s recent 5-0 drubbing of Genoa, getting on the scoresheet and providing two assists, many fans made it clear they wish their side had moved to bring Mario in on a permanent basis.
We have gathered some of the best reactions below.
https://twitter.com/CThomasNBA/status/1059193231777390594
Agree very good creative player wish we signed him. Scored 2 important goals for us
— Tom Hatcher ⚒ (@hatchtom70) November 4, 2018
Pellegrini got Wilshere and Yarmolenko for the same money, problem is both are injured.
— BKHammer (@BKhammer1) November 5, 2018
Was hoping he weren’t gonna be involved too much for them and then come back to us in January, still wouldn’t write it off tho
— Sam Harding (@samharding_93) November 4, 2018
Yeah I liked him as well… but it failed to materialize unfortunately
— ChimChimCheroo (@ChimCherooWHU) November 4, 2018