With Pablo Zabaleta leaving the club on a free transfer at the end of the season, West Ham are going to need to buy a right-back in the summer.
Ryan Fredericks hasn’t exactly shown he can be trusted either, which means investment will be needed in the position, and where better to go than Italy for a player who has grown up in England and wants to return to London?
That man is Ola Aina, currently at Torino in Serie A where he moved after a successful loan spell from Chelsea during the 2018-19 campaign.
The London born Nigeria international has become a regular feature with the Italian side, playing either on the left or the right of their three at the back formation, and has attracted interest from a few Premier League clubs, namely West Ham and Everton, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
The English duo have reportedly already ‘knocked on the door’ of the Turin club’s offices for the 23-year-old, and while they aren’t in a rush to sell him, they know they can’t keep him against his will.
It’s stated the player’s desire to be closer to his family has been ‘rekindled’, and having grown up in London, the prospect of returning to his hometown will certainly be appealing.
At 23 years of age, Aina would be a long-term investment, and, even then, he wouldn’t be the most expensive.
Bought for €10m, the right-back is currently valued at €18m, which is entirely affordable for a club like West Ham, who have come forward and are ‘interested in a transfer once the window reopens’.
