According to a report from Spanish media outlet AS, West Ham could go back in for Athletic Bilbao defender Unai Nunez in the summer, and the player himself is considering leaving if his current situation doesn’t change.
The Hammers have problems in central defence. Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop have both experienced underwhelming campaigns thus far, and Winston Reid is allegedly closing in on a loan switch to MLS side Nashville SC (Football Insider).
It seemed as though West Ham wanted to address that issue in January.
The Hammers were allegedly prepared to pay €30 million (£26 million) for Bilbao centre-back Nunez (AS), but the player himself didn’t want to move to the London Stadium.
Now a new report from AS claims that West Ham could go back in for the 23-year-old defender this summer, and he might be more open to leaving this time due to his lack of regular action.
A decent option
Nunez has played eight La Liga games for Bilbao this season, and has averaged 1.1 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 5.3 clearances per outings. The 23-year-old has also won an average of three aerial duals per game in those matches (Who Scored).
Ok, he hasn’t played regularly this season, but he still seems to be a very good player.
The 23-year-old is a ball-playing centre-back and he has great positioning (totalfootballanalysis.com).
He is only 6ft 1in, but obviously has a very good leap, judging by the aerial duals he has won this season.
If West Ham do avoid the drop this season, and manage to sign the Spaniard for around £26 million, he could end up being an excellent addition for the east London outfit.
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