Gargantuan were the expectations from Roberto Pereyra when he was snapped up by Juventus on a permanent basis last summer following his stupendous loan spell at the Turin club from Udinese, but what happened, in reality, was the exact opposite. With massive midfield departures like Pirlo and Vidal last summer, Pereyra’s job was immense for Allegri’s side but the Argentine’s injury curse prevented him from making his mark for the Serie A holders.
Injuries restricted the Argentine international to just 16 appearances in all competitions last season and quite expectedly, he is no more in Allegri’s plans for the future. With the 25-year-old looking for a move away, West Ham are looking to bag his signature as they are weighing up a £15m bid for the midfield playmaker, according to Italian publication Sport Mediaset.
The Hammers on the verge of entering the golden period in the club’s history and Slaven Bilic has done good early business this summer to kick-start the club’s new era at the Olympic Stadium. With smart additions to the squad in the form of players like Feghouli, Nordtveit, Tore, the club are looking for more quality and Pereyra is someone who could provide them just that.
The 25-year-old is a versatile midfielder who could slot into any midfield position courtesy to his creativity, flair and playmaking ability. He offers his best when deployed on the left flank but is also capable of doing a great job as a number ten or a number eight. At West Ham, he is most likely to be seen as a central midfielder.
With Nordtveit, West Ham have acquired that much-needed steel in midfield. They already had the engine in Kouyate and skipper Mark Noble offers them the leadership and he is the one who dictates the tempo of the game from deep with his range of passing. Pereyra will be able to offer them a whole new dimension with technical ability and eye for picking out cute passes.
The Argentine is a dynamic player and loves to have the ball at his feet and do the damage with his direct running. His dribbling skills and vision makes him a player West Ham will need especially in breaking down tight defences if West Ham qualifies for the Europa League.
Pereyra’s passing accuracy of 90.5% speaks for his ability to pick out his teammates while he made 1.9 key passes every game last season. Thanks to his blistering pace, the Argentine fits Bilic’s counter attacking game perfectly.
West Ham need more options in every department next season when they will have to play back to back games in Europe (if they can make it to the Europa League) and in the Premier League. Adding a quality versatile player like Pereyra would be a no-brainer from Bilic.
