Recent reports from The Sun state that West Ham United are keen on signing Manchester City midfielder Yangel Herrera as David Moyes looks set to add to his options at the centre of the park.
The Venezuela international joined Manchester City in February 2017, but he is yet to make his debut for the club. Instead, he has spent three consecutive seasons on loan at New York City FC, SD Huesca and Granada CF respectively.
The report further states that the Hammers have already submitted a bid for the 23-year-old; however, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Southampton are also keeping tabs on the midfielder.
Herrera’s 2020/21 Season At The Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes
In a season where Granada finished 9th in La Liga with 46 points in 38 games, the Manchester City loanee fared relatively well as he bagged four-goal contributions in 32 appearances with an average WhoScored rating of 6.79.
Going by the stats, Herrera averaged 1.8 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 0.5 blocks, and 0.9 clearances per 90 minutes in the Spanish top-flight (calculated over 32 appearances). Moreover, with 27.2 passes played per game with an overall pass accuracy of 67.3%, he was one of the best distributors of the ball for his side last term.
Even though Herrera is naturally suited to the central midfield role, his versatility allows him to operate across the entire midfield region – be it as a holding or a defensive midfielder. However, the leagues he has played in so far are far less physical in comparison to the Premier League, so it’s quite hard to predict how he would adapt in England.
Nonetheless, given the wide range of technical abilities he possesses, he’d be a great addition to the present West Ham side, especially if Declan Rice decides to leave in the near future.
A Wise Option For David Moyes?
The 21-times Venezuela international is a decent all-around midfielder who is capable of dominating the entire midfield on his day. Furthermore, with over 166 club appearances under his belt – that too across multiple leagues in various countries – he will undoubtedly bring a lot of experience with him.
Speaking on West Ham’s official website after the thumping 2-6 win over Scottish side Celtic, David Moyes confirmed that there’s no big update on the transfer front.
“Yea (I’m working around the clock to bring in signings), but the players that are here are important.” – The Scottish tactician stated.
“We’ll find what we can do in the future (with transfers), but we’ve got nothing really, no big update on that at the moment.”
West Ham United will be competing in Europe next season, so they need to add as much depth as possible to the existing ranks. At 23, Herrera has a lot to offer, so Moyes should definitely do everything possible to bring him to the London Stadium.
(Stats from WhoScored)
