West Ham United have joined the £26.5m chase for Sporting Lisbon midfielder, Rodrigo Battaglia along with a host of Serie A outfits. Inter Milan, Napoli and AS Roma are heavy favourites and David Moyes might have to go to extended lengths to bring the 26-year-old to England next summer.
Rodrigo is a central midfielder by trade and has 8 caps for the Argentina U20 side. He has featured in 46 games for Sporting this season while scoring 3 and assisting 3.
The Argentine’s career started in his home country with Huracan and was later traded off to Racing and then to Braga. He arrived at Portugal in January 2014 and was loaned out to Moreirense F.C. in the summer.
The Moron-born midfielder proved his worth with Rosario Central and Chaves before being signed up by Sporting in 2017. Rodrigo has been a key figure for the Verde e brancos, both in the domestic and European fixtures.
He caught the eyes of plenty by taking to his defensive duties in the Champions League group stage. Despite the daunting challenges Barcelona and Juventus place on weaker European sides, Sporting held their own and escaped any sort of humiliation. The fixtures were pretty closely fought and they even managed a 1-1 draw Juventus at home.
Rodrigo’s versatility was further showcased in the Second Leg of the Round of 16 Europa League match against Viktoria Plzen. He took up the right-back position and scored the side’s difference maker across despite losing the match. The tie ended 2-3 on aggregate and the Leões have progressed to the Quarter Final stage of the competition, set to go up against Atletico Madrid.
West Ham United are currently in a middle of an ugly relegation battle and Moyes has been tasked with resurrecting the club to top-half Premier League status. They did move 5-points clear of the bottom three after last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Southampton but safety cannot be guaranteed yet.
The Hammers fanbase is also dissatisfied with the way things are being run at the club giving way to riots at the London Stadium. Announcing a new signing will go a long way in assuring them of the club’s intentions and Rodrigo Battaglia is a big name to fill the occasion.
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Moyes did manage to find a way out of the squad imbalance by signing Joao Mario to a loan spell in January. However, when he departs for Inter after this season, the gap will need to be filled with an able and composed figure. Rodrigo certainly checks all the required boxes and can help solidify’s the club’s presence in the Premier League.
