‘Despite His Young Age’ – Sporting Director Sees West Ham Talent As ‘Modern Midfielder’ | OneFootball

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West Ham United midfielder Mohamadou Kante has landed on Fiorentina sporting director Fabio Paratici’s radar ‘despite his young age’ and is viewed as a ‘modern midfielder’.

The Hammers could not keep their Premier League status on the back of a grim season and will be competing in the Championship next term.

They will need to spend at least one season in the second tier and are staring at looking at a host of top performers in the coming weeks.

Mateus Fernandes is attracting extremely high-profile interest now and soon-to-be Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is an admirer of the Portugal midfielder.

Galatasaray held talks to sign long-serving Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek, and a German club are keen on Soungoutou Magassa.

The Hammers could be dependent on some academy talents, such as Freddie Potts, George Earthy, Ezra Mayers and Oliver Scarles in the upcoming term – they have indicated talents will get more chances.

West Ham signed French midfielder Kante from Paris FC two years ago, and he made some first-team appearances last season, featuring in 14 games across all competitions.

However, they could lose the 20-year-old central midfielder, as Fiorentina sporting director Paratici likes the West Ham man, according to Italian daily La Nazione (via Tutto Mercato Web).

Kante’s physicality and his ability to assert himself at the highest level are liked by the Tuscany club, and his profile is considered ideal by La Viola.

West Ham gave him a new deal, which runs until the summer of 2031, and he could be a mainstay under Nuno in the Championship.

The 20-year-old has not played football at the highest level consistently yet, and could be open to having a campaign in the high-paced second-tier.

La Viola were troubled by relegation issues throughout the first half of the campaign and they do not have European football to lure in players.

Whether the Irons will entertain any offers for the 20-year-old remains to be seen and Kante’s willingness will also play a key role in deciding his future.