Hungary national manager Marco Rossi cannot believe that Attila Szalai didn’t join West Ham United in the summer transfer window.
West Ham allegedly made a £13 million bid for the 24-year-old Fenerbahce centre-back in the summer.
That bid was turned down by the Fenerbahce though, and the 28-capped Hungary international ended up staying with the Turkish outfit.
David Moyes ended up bringing Thilo Kehrer and Nayef Aguerd to the London Stadium instead.
Its seems as though Szalai did in fact have the chance to join West Ham though…
Hungary manager Marco Rossi cannot believe Attila Szalai didn’t join West Ham in the summer
Hungary national manager Marco Rossi spoke to Sporx about Szalai:
I don’t know how this process developed. It’s probably a decision taken with the club. It was written in the newspapers that he would go to one of the (big European) leagues. Such as Spain, England or Germany. Honestly, I thought he’d move to one of them. It’s a bit of a surprise to me that he doesn’t leave. But that’s okay. Attila plays in the first XI at a big club. (He is) an important player for the team. Fenerbahce is a team that dominates Turkish football.
We think that Szalai would have been a superb addition for the club. And perhaps David Moyes will go back in for him in January, especially with the central defensive problems that we currently have.
He really does have absolutely everything that the Hammers need at the moment.
The physically imposing Fenerbahce centre-back seems to be tailor made for the Premier League.
Standing at 6ft 4in tall, the 24-capped Hungary international is an imposing figure. He is incredibly strong, athletic and dominant in the air.
In 32 Super Lig games for Fenerbahce last season, Szalai bagged one goal and two assists. During those appearances, he averaged 1.1 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and two clearances per game (Who Scored).
He made 43.8 passes per match and recorded a completion rate of 81% (Who Scored).
Szalai’s former manager Petros Konnafis once labeled him as an ‘unbelievable’ defender and likened him to Virgil van Dijk (First Time Finish).
Attila Szalai joining West Ham in January would not be a surprise at all.
It seems as though his national team manager thought the transfer might happen sooner though.
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