West Ham: Adri Embarba would be Albian Ajeti 2.0 | OneFootball

David Moyes could be about to repeat a similar mistake to one that Manuel Pellegrini made at West Ham…

What’s the word?

According to Spanish outlet AS, the Irons are among the Premier League teams interested in making a move for Espanyol winger Adrian Embarba.

It’s thought that the East London outfit will battle the likes of Wolves, Norwich City and Watford for the 29-year-old’s signature this summer transfer window.

Embarba is said to want to remain at the newly-promoted La Liga side but he is not among the top ten highest-paid players, and fellow Spanish teams Levante and Real Betis are also keeping tabs on the situation.

It remains to be seen how much the attacker would cost the Hammers, though Transfermarkt currently values him at a little over £6m.

Ajeti 2.0

West Ham must approach this interest with caution as it reeks of being a Pellegrini-like disaster right from the off.

The Espanyol attacking midfielder has enjoyed an outstanding season in the second-tier of Spanish football this season – as per Transfermarkt, he has delivered nine goals and 14 assists from 37 appearances.

That’s as many goals as Jesse Lingard in a claret and blue shirt, and more than Jarrod Bowen (eight) and Said Benrahma (one), so on the face of it, he could be an upgrade to the wing department.

But La Liga 2 is a different kettle of fish to the big time, particularly the Premier League, where it is a lot more physical.

The last time Embarba was in the Spanish top-flight, he could only provide two goals and four assists as Espanyol were relegated. That would suggest that he may have actually found his level lower down the divisions.

You only have to look at the Irons’ previous failings in the transfer market for a similar type of player to see why they should steer clear.

For example, when West Ham won the race for Albian Ajeti, everyone had high hopes for him. Understandably so, as he joined on the back of a 20-goal and 11-assist campaign for Basel.

He would then go onto play 12 times for the Hammers, failing to score before moving out on loan to Celtic.

It’s hard to imagine that a 29-year-old who has never played outside of his home country, nor been capped at international level, would be a good enough signing to help West Ham in Europe next season.

GSB and Moyes must not follow through with their interest in Embarba.

AND in other news, Moyes on verge of another Hammers transfer masterclass after ExWHUemployee claim…