West Ham United have been sent a warning about potentially signing Oumar Solet in the summer transfer window.
Kronen Zeitung journalist Christoph Nister has been speaking to Tuttomercatoweb about the defender today and has a warning for West Ham in the process.
Reports over the last week have linked West Ham with a move for Solet in the summer transfer window, with a report yesterday insisting that a €30m deal could be on the cards.
Solet is currently impressing at Udinese, who he joined on a free transfer on January 2nd after spending four months as a free agent following his release by RB Salzburg in September.
He had once been thought of highly at the Austrian club but eventually fell out of favour and eventually left on a free, to much disappointment and some bitterness. Nister certainly doesn’t believe he’s worth the fee being quoted for West Ham.
“Coach Pep Lijnders said one day that he didn’t want to work with him,” he explained.
“There were some disciplinary problems in the past – once he didn’t show up to training, he was often late – and the club representatives decided not to have any more problems. Lijnders had decided to let him go for free, but then a few months later he was fired.
“Given his past, the top teams were dubious about him. Plus, he failed a medical with Hoffenheim, so there were also risks for his new team due to the knee injury.
“I don’t think he can be worth that amount (€25-30m), it’s too high in my opinion considering he hasn’t played much in the last few months. However, in terms of potential, he is definitely worth more.”
It would certainly be surprising if West Ham were to make such a move given, they’ve been linked since last summer and never made their move.
They also had ample opportunity to sign the defender on a free transfer after he left Salzburg but didn’t move then, even with their ongoing issues at centre-back.
Nister certainly doesn’t pain a pretty picture, even if he believes in Solet’s talent, and West Ham may do well to take his advice on board.
