West Ham have been linked with a €27m move for Villarreal attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals which, when you look at it on the face of things, makes completely no sense at all.
And football.london understands that it is just that at the moment - rubbish.
Reports have emerged from Spain that the Hammers are keen on signing the attacking midfielder and that is where alarm bells should be ringing already as it is a position the club has never identified as one that needs filling. They already have Manuel Lanzini to play there, as well as Jack Wilshere and Felipe Anderson can also do a job in that role.
West Ham are after a central/defensive midfielder and the only one they are interested in right now is Celta Vigo's Stanislav Lobotka, not an attacking playmaker like Fornals.
A report in Spanish sports daily Marca claims that the Hammers are ready to seal a €27m move for the 23-year-old Spanish star and had also made an enquiry for the player in January.
Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini said himself that the only player he was looking at signing last January was defensive midfielder Gary Medel.
Last season, Fornals scored two goals in 35 games in La Liga and added another three in Villarreal's Europa League campaign but it was a season of struggle for the Yellow Submarine as they finished a lowly 14th in La Liga.
The Hammer are focused on sealing a double deal for Lobotka and teammate at Celta Vigo Maxi Gomez as a priority now the international transfer window is open and an attacking midfielder is not being considered by Pellegrini or director of football Mario Husillos thanks to the players the Hammers have on the books.
Lanzini has only one year left to run on his contract in east London and while the Hammers do hold a two-year option on his contract, the player could challenge the legality of the wages being offered on the option and the club fear they could lose any legal case. So maybe Fornals could be an option further down the line but right now, he isn't.
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