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Towards the back end of last week, stories started to emerge from the Italian media that West Ham United were interested in Arthur Theate.

The Belgian was signed by Bologna to replace Takehiro Tomiyasu, and the defender excelled in his first season in Italy.

However, some tension with Sinisa Mihajlovic has changed things, and while Theate isn’t actively being pushed out, he also wouldn’t be held back against his will if the right offer, which could arrive from West Ham, were to be put on the table.

The 22-year-old saw his game time reduced drastically in the last four games of the season, ending with him fully on the bench for the 1-0 win over Genoa on the final day of the campaign, and his future could entirely rest on what formation the Serbian manager uses next year.

Gazzetta dello Sport have a little bit of information on the matter on Monday, explaining that if Mihajlovic decides to return to four at the back for the 2022-23 season, Theate ‘could be sacrificed’.

That’s where West Ham come in, with it pointed out they ‘like’ the Belgian, who ‘could leave for an offer of around €10m’.

A cheap deal for a young (still 22) defender David Moyes can mould? That rarely presents itself these days.