According to reports in Italian newspaper Il Secolo XIX earlier this week, West Ham United defender Angelo Ogbonna is keen on a return to Serie A this summer and could be a target for Sampdoria.

The report suggests that the Italian club are lining up the 29-year-old as a potential replacement for Martin Skriniar, who is currently playing for Slovakia at the European Under-21 Championships in Poland and is a target for Inter Milan.

If the news is true about Ogbonna wanting to return to his homeland, then it will certainly be a blow for Irons manager Slaven Bilic after he brought the centre-back to the English capital from Juventus in 2015.

However, with two years remaining on his deal at the London Stadium, the Hammers are certainly under no pressure to sell the Italy international, who has become a mainstay in their backline alongside Winston Reid.

Here are three reasons West Ham must keep hold of Ogbonna this summer…

Ability

Ogbonna has shown during his two years in the Premier League that he is an extremely capable defender at this level, and that was shown in his 20 top flight appearances last season.

All but one of those came before February when Ogbonna suffered a knee injury, but the 29-year-old showed by making 102 clearances and 40 interceptions in those games that he is defensively sound and has great awareness of danger.

A impressive ball-playing defender too, Bilic certainly won’t want to lose the Italian this summer.

Partnership with Reid

There is no doubt that in his 18 months on the pitch for West Ham, Ogbonna has formed a strong relationship with Winston Reid at the heart of the defence and Slaven Bilic certainly won’t want to see that partnership split up now.

With Jose Fonte looking like a shadow of his former self so far after moving to the London Stadium, the Croatian needs the 29-year-old Italian to return to the backline.

The Irons boss will be aiming for Europe next season if he gets the players he wants this summer, and the central defensive pairing of Ogbonna and Reid could be key to helping them achieve that goal – if both can stay fit throughout the campaign.

Form in his absence

West Ham were 10th in the Premier League table when they beat Middlesbrough in January, but it proved to be the penultimate appearance of the season for Ogbonna – the Italian featured against Burnley on the final day – as he underwent surgery.

The Irons struggled to deal with the absence of the centre-back and slipped close to the relegation zone after winning just one of the following nine games – showing how important the presence of the 29-year-old in the backline is.

Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.