West Ham set to sign out-of-favour Pastore
Out-of-favour PSG midfielder Javier Pastore could be set to join the East London club according to Sky Sports. At just £17.5 million the Argentine could be a surprising coup for the Hammers in an attempt to satisfy the fans and rebuild for the upcoming season.
Pastore joined PSG back in 2011 for a then club record fee of around £35 million. In his 7 seasons at Parc De Princes, Pastore failed to live up to the high expectations and was unable to lock down a consistent starting berth. As PSG continued to spend money, the former Palermo man found himself further down the pecking order.
It seems PSG are willing to let the player go for a cut-price fee as they attempt to meet the FFP regulations, after a summer of high spending on Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. For Pastore, the move could represent a fresh start for a player that’s in his prime and so far has wasted the majority of his career in a rotation role in Paris, a far cry from the early promise he showed in Serie A.
The past 12 months have been especially difficult for the player, unable to push ahead of Mbappe, Neymar, Di Maria and Draxler in the forward roles and falling behind Verratti, Rabiot, Motta and Lo Celso in the midfield. Pastore only played 1344 minutes of Ligue 1 football, and this lack of game time has cost him a place in a stacked Argentina squad for this summers World Cup.
Twitter: West Ham in talks to sign PSG midfielder Javier Pastore. PSG willing to sell this summer.€20m deal (@SkyKaveh)
Despite the limited game time, Pastore was still able to contribute 4 goals and 5 assists, showing that the talent is still there and he’d be a worthy gamble for most teams.
This transfer would be massive for West Ham, they’re signing a player that many of the top European teams were after a few seasons ago, is he in the prime of his career and at £17.5 million can be seen as a shrewd purchase in today’s market.
It will be interesting to see if Pastore can rejuvenate a stagnant career at the London stadium.