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West Ham United are closing in on the signing of Pablo Fornals from Villarreal for a £24m fee, Football FanCast understands.

The Hammers turned their attention to the attacking midfielder earlier this week after realising that a deal to sign Celta Vigo's Stanislav Lobotka would prove prohibitively expensive.

Fornals, nevertheless, is a player that is admired by manager Manuel Pellegrini and sources have confirmed that the manager explicitly asked for his signing.

Mario Husillos, the club's Director of Football, has driven the deal and a fee of £24m has been agreed between the two clubs.

A tricky playmaker who has won two caps for Spain, Fornals scored five goals and registered six assists in 2018/19 and will reinforce the club's attacking midfield ranks; they already have Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, Manuel Lanzini, Jack Wilshere and Robert Snodgrass capable of playing in the No.10 role.

Is a move for Fornals sensible, then, at such a price?

Football FanCast's writers give their verdicts below!

Ben Goodwin

"I think Fornals is an excellent signing for the Hammers and could be the perfect midfield partner for Declan Rice. Rice offers defensive stability and recycles the ball smartly, but he needs a creative influence alongside him and Fornals will offer that magical spark. His versatility, vision and skill opens up loads of options for Manuel Pellegrini, who is no doubt delighted to be landing such a gifted technician."

Christy Malyan

"Pellegrini seems to be a fan, he can play across the midfield, he's 23 years old and he's already played for the Spanish national team. Fornals seems to tick all the boxes but £24m is a lot of money for West Ham and you have to wonder how much will be left in the kitty to address some clear deficiencies in the squad, particularly at full-back and up front. Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson should bring enough verve and class to the midfield on their own."

Matt Dawson

"Even at a price as high as £24m, Fornals would be a wonderful capture for West Ham. However, given the club already have plenty of creative outlets it does perhaps seem a questionable signing in that regard. That being said, the talents he has at his disposal should light up the London Stadium if his move does go through. He's confident with the ball at his feet and he's already proven himself in one of Europe's top five leagues. This is a solid acquisition."