Latest reports suggest that Pedro Obiang might be heading out of the West Ham United exit door as interest continues to rise from Serie A outfits. Sampdoria are the most notable ones to express a desire for a transfer and the midfielder himself reportedly wants to return back to his former club. With Manuel Pellegrini taking charge of the East London club, the 26-year-old’s prospects of senior team involvement has reduced significantly, especially after the arrival of Jack Wilshere.
The Hammers have already made seven signings during this summer window and are on the lookout for more. Pellegrini has already spent a lot of money so far and might just have to consider selling a few of his unnecessary options to generate more funds.
To call Obiang a surplus for Pellegrini might not be entirely true but he also might not receive the similar amount of minutes he did under David Moyes last term. The defensive midfielder signed with United in the summer of 2015 and till date, he has racked up close to 90 appearances for the club.
Obiang has been capped 7 times for Spain at various youth levels. He is well accustomed to the Serie A, having registered over 100 appearances, with 4 goals and 10 assists to his name with Sampdoria between 2010 and 2015. Obiang had featured in 27 games last season but struggled to really get going from the centre of the pitch. An injury to the knee certainly did not help him either with Cheikhou Kouyaté stealing his spot in the first team late into the 2017/18 campaign.
Obiang’s primary role is to solidify the midfield with his defensive strengths. Winning back possession through interceptions and linking up the game is what he is best known for. Unfortunately, his lack of creativity of technical abilities might not be the ideal fit into Pellegrini’s high possession style of play.
The new head coach has already won the Premier League title with Manchester City and is expected to take the Hammers to new heights. He has significantly bolstered the midfield ranks through the additions of Andriy Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson and Wilshere earlier this summer. Mark Noble and Manuel Lanzini are consistent performers who will finally have able minded players to link up with. West Ham have enough cover in Cheikhou Kouyate, Edimilson Fernandes and Josh Cullen for the entire season.
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Obiang’s value in the present market is still understandably high and moving him could give Pellegrini the leverage to go after more necessary additions.
