West Ham United are ready to move for Juventus youngster Koni de Winter after Southampton saw a bid returned ‘promptly’ returned to the club in January.
That’s according to Calciomercato, who say the Premier League duo are keen on the Belgian youngster after his performances at Empoli this season.
The 20-year-old has been on loan with the Italian side from Juventus’ Next Gen set up and impressing, making 13 appearances in the first team so far and 38% of the available minutes in the league.
He continues to impress with a ‘super performance’ against his AC Milan last night, helping his side to a 0-0 draw with a commanding display at the back.
His loan deal is now being seen as a ‘successful’ one from all points of view, with him growing on a technical level as well as an economical one.
He is now worth €15m and January saw an attempt from Southampton to lure him away from Italy, although their bid was ‘promptly returned’ to the sender by Empoli.
They weren’t interested in doing a deal at that point but know there are other suitors for next season, with West Ham ‘ready to knock’ on Juventus’ door.
Both clubs face frustration in any potential pursuit, though, as De Winter is not interested in playing for West Ham or Southampton but wants to gain a permanent place in the Belgium side and with Juventus to boot.
Those are objectives that are ‘absolutely within the reach’ of the player, suggesting he won’t be moving to England any time soon.
