According to Sky Sports, West Ham United are interested in signing Genoa centre-back Armando Izzo, who is rated at £5.4m by Transfermarkt and received an 18-month ban from football in April 2017.

What's the word, then?

Manuel Pellegrini while in charge of Man City

Well, Sky Sports report that the Irons and manager Manuel Pellegrini, whom Hammers fans on Twitter believe a £15m-rated attacker would thrive under, are keen to bring the 26-year-old defender to the London Stadium to boost the club's defensive options, after they ended the Premier League campaign with the joint-worst defensive record after conceding 68 goals in their 38 top flight fixtures.

According to Football Italia, the Serie A star was suspended for 18 months in April of last year after failing to report match fixing, but it was reduced to six months in May and was then annulled completely in September to allow the player to make an immediate return to action.

How did Izzo do last season?

Having missed the beginning of the campaign because of that suspension, the 26-year-old bounced back and quickly became a regular in the starting XI before he suffered a knee injury in February.

That kept him out for all but the final two Serie A fixtures of the campaign, but it hasn't stopped him gaining admiring glances from other clubs.

According to WhoScored.com, his main strengths are his tackling, concentration and ball interception.

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Would he be a good West Ham signing?

While Izzo certainly has plenty of Serie A experience – he has played 98 times there – and is impressive from a defensive point of view, it is hard to see that he is of the quality they should perhaps be targeting if they want to see a major improvement under Manuel Pellegrini next season.

That said, perhaps the Irons do need that out-and-out defender that isn’t afraid to put his body on the line for his team to go alongside the likes of Declan Rice and Angelo Ogbonna, who are perhaps more comfortable in possession than Izzo is.

Pellegrini may also feel that the 26-year-old could form a strong partnership with his Italian compatriot Ogbonna, and he could prove to be a bargain if he is available for a reasonable fee.