In a recent report, The Athletic (subscription required) mentioned that West Ham United are showing interest in OGC Nice defender Flavius Daniliuc. It is believed that the Hammers could make an attempt to land the Austrian centre-back during the winter transfer window.
Daniliuc’s Impressive Rise At The Allianz Riviera
Daniliuc has caught the eye with his performances at the centre of Nice’s backline during this campaign. He has produced some dominant displays for them on the defensive end of the field. The 20-year-old has been involved in 11 matches for the French club this season, receiving two yellow cards in the process across all competitions.
Half of his league appearances have come off the bench. Still, the Wien-born talent has given a good account of himself by averaging 1.3 tackles, 0.5 interceptions and 1.3 clearances per game in Ligue 1. He has even been accurate with his ball distribution after completing 87.8% of his attempted passes in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
The 4th Official uses images provided by the following image agency:
Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.de/)
Imago Images (https://www.imago-images.de/)
Is Daniliuc The Right Choice For West Ham United?
Daniliuc can use his powerful 1.88m frame to win his fair share of aerial duels on the defensive third of the pitch. He is a solid tackler of the ball and can make himself big to clear the danger when the opposition are on the front foot. Daniliuc is also a good passer of the ball. However, the Austrian sensation needs to time his challenges a bit better if he wants to make more interceptions for his team.
At 20, Daniliuc has a very promising future ahead of him, so the Hammers will do well to lure him to the London Stadium this winter. We can expect him to bring some bite and steel to the West Ham backline.
An experienced manager like David Moyes could be the ideal man to oversee his development in the coming seasons. At the moment, the East London outfit can definitely use someone Daniliuc’s skillset so that they can cope with the long-term injury absence of Angelo Ogbonna. With all things considered, the Nice whizkid will be a decent choice for the Hammers to pursue next month.
