West Ham United have already been linked with a number of Italian players and it seems, the Hammers are looking to strengthen their Italian contingent yet again. According to various reports, Slaven Bilic has been keeping an eye on SPAL defender Francesco Vicari. The East Londoners had a very difficult foundation of this season but have recovered from their shaky start following their inspiring performances in the last three matches.
The defence has been the backbone of their playing style but their recent defensive performance has put them in a quite difficult condition. The likes of Jose Fonte haven’t been able to deliver and if Bilic doesn’t move fast, he will be in sheer danger in the upcoming future.
Italy has always been the land of defenders. The likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Maldini, Marco Materazzi and Leonardo Bonucci have played with utter supremacy and much domination. Serie-A has been the league of defenders and the 23-year-old has already proven his mettle in one of the most challenging football League in the world currently.
He also has one cap for the Italian U-21 side and is a future candidate for the senior team. SPAL got promoted to the Serie-A last season and the seasoned defender played a pivotal part in their resurgence.
West Ham reportedly sent their scouts at the San Siro to keep a tab on the player’s development. His team lost the match 2-0 against a mighty AC Milan but he seemed to have gained the belief of the Hammers representative with his tight defending at the back.
The Hammers had a pretty envious lineup of defenders but both Fonte and James Collins are on the wrong side of their thirties and Bilic needs to evaluate their position. They don’t seem to have an extended future at the London stadium so the manager should look for replacements if they do leave in near future.
Vicari is young and has a raw talent which can be polished further. This is his maiden season in the Serie-A and he has already started to show his true colours. The Italian national has already found the back of the net and has been a regular in the side.
A number of Italian players with the likes of Paolo Di Canio, Alessandro Diamanti and more recently Simone Zaza have played their parts for the East Londoners and Vicari could follow the suit. He would command a much cheaper fee than the other available young centre-backs and the Hammers can’t go this opportunity to waste.
