West Ham United are reportedly chasing Juventus’ Stefano Sturaro as Slaven Bilic looks to add more reinforcements to his backline following a disastrous start to their campaign. The Italian centre half has been impressive for the Old Lady last season but Max Allegri doesn’t see him in his first eleven yet. With World Cup coming up next, Sturaro would desperately need regular chances to stay in contention.
However, the Hammers aren’t the only side to chase him as Premier League clubs Everton and Stoke City are also keen on bringing him. Bilic opened the much-awaited season with two back to back defeats against Manchester United and Southampton, where he saw his side conceding seven goals in two games.
Despite bringing in Pablo Zabaleta from Manchester City this summer, the Irons are yet to find any solidity whatsoever at their defensive third. Javier Hernandez has been the only arrival to make any kind of impression whatsoever so far as Marko Arnautovic saw red last game against the Saints, which is expected to keep him suspended for the next few games.
Nothing is quite going the Croat manager’s way and the first step he should take now is to stop losing the next game before other things fall into place slowly. And the biggest improvement for that would mean getting in a quality central midfielder to get a smooth transition from their defence to attack and vice versa.
In the likes of Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang, Bilic possesses mostly disciplined box to box midfielders, who are easier to read. Although West Ham brought in young Sead Haksabanovic in the midfield, he is too young to be thrown into the high-octane games. Bilic started with young Declan Rice alongside Noble last week that shows the lack of depth on his bench for that position.
Sturaro would be an upgrade on their current midfield by all means given his rich technique and brilliant defensive attributes. Standing at 181cm, Sturaro remains decently built to play in the rigours of the league and his vision from the midfield could come in handy for the manager. However, his discipline is something Bilic will be concerned about although it is expected to fade with maturity.
An academy product of Serie A side Genoa, Sturaro had spent a short stint with Modena FC 1912, before breaking into the side’s first team in 2013 before Juventus bought him. He was kept in Genoa for a season on loan before he was included in their squad.
