West Ham United have been linked with a move for Chilean defender Guillermo Maripan.
According to a host of sources including The Sun and Marca, West Ham want the Alaves defender in a £15million deal.
The 25-year-old West Ham target is in the Chile squad for the Copa America in Brazil played in his country’s 4-0 win over Japan overnight.
Pellegrini wants compatriot
Maripan has impressed in La Liga for Alaves and has said he wants to move to the Premier League.
Manuel Pellegrini is well aware of his fellow countryman’s talents.
But West Ham are focused on spending the majority of their remaining budget on forwards.
Ogbonna sale could fund Maripan deal
That could all change, though, as Italian side Bologna are reportedly ready to ramp up their pursuit of West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna.
According to Il Resto del Carlino – as also reported by Football Italia – Bologna and coach Sinisa Mihajlovic want Ogbonna to be their first choice centre-back.
The 31-year-old Italy international is currently back-up to Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena at West Ham.
His Hammers contract runs until 2022.
Hammers can still improve defensively
So Pellegrini could hope to recoup between £5-8million for the experienced defender which would help fund a move for Maripan.
West Ham improved massively under Pellegrini last season.
But they were often let down by their lack of strength in depth in defence. That proved costly at crucial stages of the campaign.
West Ham shipped 55 goals in 38 games last season.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
