Odds suspended on shock Fonte move to struggling West Ham
Published:
He may have been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United back in the summer, but the latest move from our traders suggests that Southampton defender Jose Fonte could be on his way to West Ham.
That’s right.
Seemingly out of nowhere, and despite former Saints boss and now-Everton gaffer Ronald Koeman reportedly being interested in reuniting with the 33-year-old, a move to east London now looks very much on the cards.
In fact, our traders have now suspended odds of Fonte joining the Hammers, having previously not even being in the running.
Having already tabled bids for both Jermain Defoe and Robert Snodgrass in this transfer window, it’s clear West Ham boss Slaven Bilic knows he needs to strengthen his side in preparation for the business end of the campaign.
But £8m for a 33-year-old (which is what Southampton are thought to be demanding) would be considered an incredibly high fee, especially for a club that wanted to sign the aforementioned two names for just under £10m combined.
However, Fonte’s arrival would certainly go a long way towards ensuring the Hammers climb up the table between now and May.
They’ve already conceded 35 goals after 21 games, which is 11 more than they shipped at this same stage last time out.
Fonte, on the other hand, has been incredibly effective for the Saints so far this year. While all the attention seems to have been on his central-defensive partner Virgil van Dijk, the Euro 2016 winner has quietly gone about his business.
Of the 17 games in which he’s featured for the south coast outfit this year, he has seven clean sheets to his name.
And although it’s hardly the kind of huge name that fans would have expected to arrive at the club back in the summer, it’s worth noting that Fonte was certainly in demand.
So what do fans think about the incoming arrival? Will Fonte strengthen your chances of a top 10 finish?
Let us know in the comments section below!
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
