West Ham United are looking to bring in Yerry Mina on-loan next season who will have to make way for Arthur Melo. Barcelona are anticipating the arrival of the latter and that will violate the quota of non-European players allowed to be named in a seasonal squad in the La Liga.
The Spanish League limits the existence of non-EU players to just three and Barcelona currently have Philippe Coutinho, Paulinho and Mina on the payroll.
The Hammers have expressed interests towards Mina previously and now have the chance to get him for the 2018/17 season. The move would be the ideal move for both parties since Mina is yet to make a strong case for regular selection.
The 23-year-old became the first Colombian to play for Barcelona, and could well be at the heart of the Catalan club’s backline for years to come.
Gerard Pique is 31 and Thomas Vermaelen is 32, while Javier Mascherano (33) has already exited the club. So there is a need for fresh blood to come in to support Samuel Umtiti in the centre of defence.
Having been in Barcelona’s sights since his time in Colombia at Santa Fe, Mina’s move to Brazilian side Palmeiras two years ago was partly facilitated by the Spanish club, and it was initially planned that he would then finally make the move to Europe after the World Cup.
Barcelona’s did not hold back on their intentions to bring the 6 feet 5 inches defender to the Camp Nou by paying €11.8m. The price looked hefty at the time but going by the promise he has displayed in his limited minutes for the Blaugrana, it might pay off dividend in the years to come.
But the return on investment might have to be delayed by another season as the centre-half partnership of Pique and Umtiti is hard to break at the moment when Valverde has Vermaelen on the bench as a more experienced backup.
West Ham are undergoing a challenging season with the club now rooted in a closely tied relegation battle. They are currently held off the bottom three by just 2 points and consecutive losses to Liverpool, Swansea City and Burnley by a 3-goal margin did not help their case for survival.
David Moyes has instilled a bit of structure on his arrival but the team could do with a few improvements. The backline has been especially vulnerable with James Collins entering the last stages of his playing career.
