Why West Ham must go all out to sign Roman Zobnin in January
West Ham have already snapped up Samir Nasri on a free transfer but could do more business in the January transfer window to bolster their top-eight hopes this season.
Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping to build on an impressive December in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign. The Hammers boss is interested in signing a midfielder in January, with Jonjo Shelvey and Gary Medel both linked in recent times.
Newcastle United are locked in a relegation battle and are unlikely to want to sell their best players, which includes Jonjo Shelvey. Gary Medel, meanwhile, could be an enticing prospect but West Ham have had their bid rejected by Besiktas as manager Senol Gunes wants to keep the Chilean midfielder in Istanbul.
With deals for Shelvey and Medel looking unlikely at the moment, West Ham must shift their attention to Spartak Moscow star Roman Zobnin. A youth product of the Konoplyov football academy, Roman Zobnin joined Akademiya Tolyatti in 2011 and made his debut in the same year in the Russian second division.
After spending two years with Akademiya Tolyatti, he joined Dynamo Moscow. In 2016, following Dynamo Moscow’s relegation from the Russian Football Premier League, the 24-year-old moved to Spartak Moscow.
Roman Zobnin has been a shining star at Spartak and was included in the 2018 World Cup squad for his impressive performances. He played every minute of the competition before Russia were eventually eliminated in the quarterfinal by Croatia.
Now impressing at Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League, the highly-rated Roman Zobnin is a seasoned campaigner and could be a valuable addition to West Ham’s midfield ranks.
In Zobnin, Pellegrini would get a tenacious, energetic and robust midfielder who would be a great player to have in the squad, purely for the more physical fixtures that are set to follow in the season. The Russian’s presence will add more security to the West Ham midfield and most importantly, allow the creative players to become more expressive in the final third.
Not to forget, both Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere have struggled with injuries this campaign. Thus, the addition of Zobnin will add some much-needed depth to the midfield department, ultimately giving Pellegrini more options to choose from.
Furthermore, he would bring the drive and energy that was expected out of Wilshere when the Hammers signed him last summer.
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Industrious, visionary and technically sound, Zobnin could form a terrific partnership with the likes of Declan Rice and Pedro Obiang. He could be that impact signing West Ham need for achieving a top-eight finish.