West Ham United are reportedly keeping tabs on Sporting Lisbon defender Cristiano Piccini. Slaven Bilic has been looking for options in the transfer market to improve his squad and has identified the player as a potential arrival at the London Stadium.
The right-back only arrived at the Portuguese club in the summer and has shot to prominence already. His displays on the right side of the defence have been impressive and a number of clubs are hunting for him. The 24-year-old is, so far, having a solid campaign and has started all the eight games this season in the Portuguese top tier. He came through the ranks of Fiorentina but didn’t have much luck as he had to spend time at a number of clubs on loan.
He finally was sold to Real Betis and it was there that he got the platform to showcase his talent. He had a brief loan spell with the Spanish club and the club hierarchy was impressed with his showings and decided to sign him permanently.
Since then, he has only improved as a player and got a big break in his career as Sporting Lisbon came calling for him in the summer. Arsenal are also interested in the player and are looking for the perfect opportunity to lure him.
The player only just moved to a new club and might not be interested in another move so quickly. It would be too ambitious for him to arrive in the Premier League in this January but the Hammers want to keep their doors open for the player.
Bilic needs some reinforcements in the right-back department. Pablo Zabaleta is right now 32 and isn’t the same player he used to be and is not a long-term option. Sam Byram has been far from impressive so far and a move for the Italian defender makes a lot of sense.
The 25-year-old is a very strong defender and likes to bomb forward with his electric pace. He can cross the ball with perfection and the likes of Andy Carroll will be benefitted, should he come to the club.
However one thing, he needs to control is his knack of making unnecessary fouls. The player has a serious disciplinary problem and needs to work on that. Fiorentina have a buyback option inserted into the contract, so if any opportunity comes, the Italian club will have the first right to reject.
With the winter transfer window approaching, we might see some new arrivals at the London Stadium but can Bilic land Piccini?
