In what would be one of the most shocking transfers of the past couple seasons, oddsmakers UNIBET are giving West Ham 4/1 odds to sign Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The 18-year old AC Milan star is rumoured to be one his way out of the San Siro and has been linked with clubs like Juventus, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and now West Ham.
The Hammers should surely be looking for an upgrade in net as Darren Randolph and Adrian clearly struggled at times last season but brining in Donnarumma would represent the transfer of the summer.
The goalkeeper made his professional debut aged just 16 and has been a stalwart in net for AC Milan the past two seasons. The Italy international has made 72 appearances for the Rossoneri and has allowed only 79 goals while keeping a clean sheet in 29 matches.
His expected move to Madrid has reportedly been scuppered by the Spanish club’s fear of the influence from Donnarumma’s agent Mino Raiola. The controversial super agent caused a big stir while client and former AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was at Barcelona and the European Champions are afraid of a similar fiasco with the young Italian keeper. West Ham likely wouldn’t care much about Raiola’s influence if they could bring in a keeper tipped to become the next Gianluigi Buffon and lead the Italian national side for the foreseeable future.
Donnarumma’s price tag has long been rumoured to be astronomical, ranging from 60 to 90 million pounds, and would destroy the transfer record for a goalkeeper. West Ham have been angling for big-name transfers over the past couple seasons and signing the future of the Italian national team would certainly show that the Hammers mean business.
It would certainly be a shock across world football so this will be an interesting storyline to follow as the summer progresses.