West Ham United may have chosen El Hadji Malick Diouf and Oscar Mingueza as their top full-back targets this summer but that does not mean the Premier League outfit don’t have a few alternatives in mind as well.
Hammers News have been informed, by football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay has approved deals for El Hadji Malick Diouf and former Barcelona starlet Oscar Mingueza.
The Slavia Prague flyer and the Celta Vigo ace are West Ham United’s primary options for the full-back roles in Graham Potter’s backline.
But given that the Hammers have already seen a number of targets slip through the net this summer – this week alone Everton moved close to Villarreal striker Thierno Barry while Sunderland entered pole position for Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic – it makes sense that the London Stadium outfit will not put all their eggs in the Diouf and Mingueza baskets.
As such, Italian publication Calciomercato claim that Nuno Tavares, on the radars of West Ham and Leeds, could make a return to English football just one year after leaving Arsenal for Lazio.
West Ham United eye Nuno Tavares after Arsenal sold him to Lazio
Tavares certainly struggled during his previous spell on UK shores.
He started only 13 Premier League games for Arsenal and a further five during his forgettable loan spell with Nottingham Forest. A terrific debut season in Serie A, though, could earn the swashbuckling, two-footed Tavares the chance to show Arsenal just how much he has grown in a short period of time.
His stand-out moment at the Emirates, meanwhile, was comfortably his goal during a 3-1 victory over a Ralf Rangnick-led Manchester United side.
Calciomercato claim that Lazio will look for around £21 million.
Reportedly, a similar fee to the one demanded by Slavia Prague for Diouf. The Czech outfit rejected West Ham’s opening bid – worth £17 million – a few days ago.
Benfica graduate Tavares is a man cut from Oscar Mingueza’s cloth, such is the flexibility of his game. Like the former La Masia kid, Tavares is comfortable on both flanks even if he prefers the left.
He provided eight assists in his first eight Serie A appearances from that role – two coming in a four-goal thriller with AC Milan – before injuries curtailed his early impact.
“Tavares is a boy who has great potential. It is no coincidence that he was an Arsenal player,” former Marco Baroni said back September, when Tavares was performing at the peak of his powers.
“He is a boy who has great potential. I am convinced that we will create the right fabric and structure for him to give his best and emerge, because he has incredible potential.”
Mikel Arteta called Tavares ‘really impressive’ during Arsenal stay
Tavares found game time much harder to come by at Arsenal, stuck behind the likes of Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order.
The once-capped Portugal international did still earn the admiration of Gunners boss Mikel Arteta though.
Shortly after a 21-year-old Tavares completed an £8 million move from Benfica, Arteta highlighted the ‘courage, physicality and quality’ of a youngster he felt had made a ‘really impressive’ first impression.
Speaking of Lazio, meanwhile, West Ham’s own Emerson Palmieri has been linked with the Biancocelesti after being informed he is free to leave the London Stadium.
Hammers News understands that those Lazio reports are wide of the mark, however. Emerson came close to joining Real Betis recently, meanwhile, only to see the Spaniard’s pull the plug.
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