West Ham United seems to have found a perfect long-term option for their lack-lustrous midfield in Udinese youngster Seko Fofana. Though the current midfield duo of Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble has been decent for the Hammers in recent games, both of them are box-to-box midfielders and lack the creative touch that has pretty much held back the likes of Robert Snodgrass and Manuel Lanzini up front.
And as per Calciomercato, the 21-year-old French international looks to fit Bilic’s setup perfectly. The midfielder has been immensely impressive this season in the Serie A and has drawn interests from numerous clubs across Europe that include Premier League sides, West Ham and Everton.
Italian giants Juventus have also been tracking his development, but the star-studded team of Max Allegri has little space for Fofana in the midfield. Reportedly, Udinese would be looking for a sum in the region of €10m for their star midfielder, which wouldn’t be a problem for either Everton or West Ham. Everton are above West Ham United in the Premier League table and have a better prospect for playing in the cherished Europa League next season and Slaven Bilic will have to do something more to land the player.
In the 21 league appearances in la Liga so far, Fofana has bagged five goals from the midfield and one assist. A central midfielder by nature, he is adept in both the attacking and defending role. His dribbling skills have garnered a lot of interest from many clubs and his ability to take perfectly-controlled long shots makes him a deadly player to have in the squad.
Another major advantage of having him in the Premier League is that he won’t be needing time to adapt to the English top flight football owing to his past experiences in England. Fofana had originally joined Udinese on loan from Manchester City, but that move was made into a permanent deal after the youngster impressed.
A product of French side Lorient B, Man City bought him in 2013, from where he spent loan spells in Fulham and SC Bastia. Playing for City’s U-23 side, Fofana has scored nine goals and six assists in 34 appearances. He looks to be a decent buy for Bilic who has only defensive midfielders like Cheikhou Kouyaté and Havard Nordtveit as alternative options in the midfield.
Udinese are 14th in the Serie A table and although Fofana’s contract with the club runs till 2021, a move would definitely be his cards, who deserves to play at a better club with bigger ambitions.
