The Hammers started their season in a great manner, but it was just in the first couple of matches that they proved their superiority. Soon after that, they started to collect losses and dropped close to the relegation zone.
Many bookies such as Sportsbet.io did not give much chance to the Hammers to make a success this season, but the fans hoped they could at least make it to the upper part of the leaderboard and remain there until the end of the season. Part of their lack of success has to do with their plans going sour during the summer transfer window.
After the Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic left West Ham United, the Hammers were desperate to find a replacement. Despite poor performance by Aranutovic, he was somewhat important for the strategy, which is why the team needed one such player in its lines as quickly as possible. Selling Arnautovic to the Chinese league was a difficult but logical step to make. The next reasonable step was to find someone who would fill the empty spot.
One of their primary targets was Andrea Belotti, a young Torino player. The club made a proposition to Torino, offering to pay £35 million for Belotti for a five-year contract. However, Torino had a much higher price set on Belotti in the last transfer window — over £60 million.
Therefore, West Ham was left without the player they wanted. However, the new transfer window is coming soon and it seems that the Hammers haven’t given up on the Italian football player.
Moreover, the price of the player is now much lower — the club wants to sell him for £30 million less than before. Yet, there’s also bad news for West Ham — they’re not the only club interested in this player.
Andrea Belotti to Atletico Madrid?
The second club that showed interest in signing a contract with Andrea Belotti is Atletico Madrid. Unlike West Ham, which has been interested in Torino’s captain for quite a while, Atletico’s decision to consider Belotti as an option has come as quite a shock in the football world.
Diego Simeone has been on the lookout for quite a while since the club from Madrid wants to obtain a striker. Los Rojiblancos’s attacking lines have been weakened with the injury of Diego Costa, and a significant decline in their offence was more than noticeable in the last couple of games. Therefore, the team desperately needs a striker, and Andrea Belotti could turn out to be just what they need.
Atletico Madrid is willing to offer a total of €35 million, and the club from Italy might as well accept it, although Belotti is under contract until 2022.
Should Belotti Leave Torino?
The reason why Andrea Belotti’s price dropped since the last transfer window is that he underperformed. This was somewhat unexpected as the Italian striker had a superior 2016/2017 season when he managed to score a total of 26 goals in Serie A.
This season is not bad for him either — he’s already scored 13 goals in 20 games. However, the 2019 Belotti isn’t performing as well as the 2017 Belotti. At the time, he was even considered by Manchester United as one of the possible options.
To sum up, Belotti might be able to improve his performance outside Torino. He’s already proved that he has the potential to become one of the best strikers in Europe, it’s just that this season and the previous one weren’t good for him. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old football player still has a lot of time to improve and West Ham or Atletico Madrid might give him that opportunity.
