In news that might thrill West Ham fans (we don’t know), the Hammers are currently in the lead to re-sign Joao Mario from Inter.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, out of the five clubs interested in the Portugal international, Manuel Pellegrini’s side ‘hold the advantage’, ahead of the likes of Tottenham, Everton and Leicester.
The Toffees’ inclusion in this list isn’t anything new, as Marco Silva’s side have been linked over the past week or so, but Leicester’s is brand new.
With just over a week left in the transfer window, we’re likely to see lots of names flying around, and Joao Mario is an interesting profile for a lot of teams.
West Ham would know exactly what they would be getting, having welcomed him for the second half of last season on loan, while Marco Silva managed him at Sporting CP back in the day.
Claude Puel might be the only one relatively in the unknown about the Portuguese midfielder, yet if he can bring him to Goodison Park to play alongside Adrien Silva and Ricardo Pereira on a loan with a view to buy, then why not?
As things stand, Inter would only be interested in a full sale at around €25m, but they also know that they can’t risk being stuck with Mario for another season, so they might very well end up accepting temporary deals if we get closer to August 9th.
