Joao Mario arrived at West Ham with a whole load of hope, probably more hope than should have really surrounded the situation given his recent struggles in Italy.
West Ham fans wanted some positive news and Joao Mario, arriving from Inter Milan on loan, was taken as such.
Talk of a potential permanent deal in the summer, with some figures even suggesting it’d go as high as €40m, created more excitement, but the Portuguese international simply hasn’t been able to live up to it since.
Perhaps it was a sign for West Ham when Inter fans celebrated his exit across social media, coming up with the hashtag #ciaomario and making it clear they weren’t exactly going to miss him.
Monday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport is already lining Joao Mario up for a move once he returns from loan at West Ham, giving a pretty big hint they can’t see it being made permanent.
It’s explained Inter Milan could use the 25 year old as part payment to AS Roma for Kevin Strootman, which would potentially be the most helpful thing he’d done for Inter since moving there.
Of course, there’s time for all this to turn on its head, and Joao Mario to be revelation between now and the end of the season, in that case Inter could use the €30m+ from West Ham to pay for Strootman.
