West Ham United have been linked with a move for Manchester City utility man Fabian Delph.
Manuel Pellegrini wants as many as six new players this summer.
The Chilean is targeting two strikers, one or two midfielders, a defender and a back-up goalkeeper.
And according to Football Insider Pellegrini remains an admirer of Delph after bringing him to the Etihad when he was in charge.
Pellegrini wants Fab Delph
The report claims West Ham want the versatile former Leeds and Villa midfielder-cum-defender and could get him for around £15million.
The England international made just 20 appearances last season.
And he faces the reality that will be reduced further still next term. He lost his place to Oleks Zinchenko while Benjamin Mendy will be coming back into the side once he recovers from long-term injury.
Delph would be a useful addition and at 29 has several years left in him.
City star has Hammers bridges to build
But he would have to build some bridges if the Hammers did sign him.
It comes after Delph criticised West Ham’s negative style of football just over a year ago.
Speaking after a Manchester City game against West Ham under then manager David Moyes, Delph said: “It was difficult, teams seem to come here and get every man behind the ball, not interested in anything but parking the bus,” as reported by the likes of The Express.
That prompted an angry reaction from Hammers fans and homegrown skipper Noble.
“What annoys me is you get people saying that you showed no ambition,” Noble told the Evening Standard at the time.
“Okay, we open up and play expansive football against Chelsea and you get beaten 5-0.
“We can’t spend £80million on a player so somehow you have to find a way of beating these big teams.
“We have to level it up somehow and that is by hard work and having a game plan which we executed brilliantly.”
Time is a great healer
West Ham had lost the game at City 2-1.
And they did so thanks to a free-kick controversially engineered by Delph himself.
But the match was seen as a turning point in the club’s season as they went on to secure safety.
Delph’s comments and actions rankled with Hammers fans as they smacked of being out of touch.
He cut his teeth with a Leeds side struggling financially and ended up at mega rich City. So Delph should appreciate both ends of the spectrum.
There has been a lot of water under the bridge since, though, and should he sign it is nothing an initiation song won’t fix.
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