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West Ham United are interested in signing Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado this summer, per Corriere Torino via Sport Witness.
What’s the word?
Cuadrado’s contract expires at the end of next season and he has subsequently been made available this summer for a fee of between €25million and €30million (£26.34m).
The 30-year-old has struggled for fitness in Turin this season, playing 21 times in all competitions, and he has completed the 90 minutes in Serie A on a mere four occasions.
Indeed, thus far this campaign, he has scored just once and Juve are reportedly open to the idea of cashing in on the Colombia international.
West Ham are listed as potential suitors, along with Watford, Sevilla and Valencia, though the report states that Juve would rather send Cuadrado to his old club Fiorentina in a bid to lower the price of one of their top targets, Federico Chiesa.
A ghost of West Ham’s past
A player with fitness issues who may have his best years behind him signing for West Ham, you say? Shock horror.
This is exactly the kind of deal that used to appeal to the Irons with Nene, Alvaro Arbeloa, Javier Hernandez, Alou Diarra and even former Juve man Angelo Ogbonna all falling into that bracket.
Cuadrado, after all, is a recognisable name and has a significant pedigree in European football.
But that’s all he has; his performances this season have done nothing to indicate that he could cut it in the Premier League – just as he struggled to during his short lived spell at Chelsea – but here we are, discussing it all the same.
The fact of the matter is that West Ham would be better served focusing on younger alternatives – they are out there, and wouldn’t represent such a risk. Signing Cuadrado would cost a pretty penny and likely swallow a huge chunk of the club’s wage budget.
He simply isn’t worth it. West Ham need to show that they have learned from their past mistakes and avoid the winger at all costs.
