An update has emerged on Sassuolo right-back Mert Muldur, regarding West Ham's interest in his services...
What's the talk?
According to the Daily Mail, West Ham are battling it out with Tottenham to sign Sassuolo right-back Mert Muldur this summer.
The report claims that both clubs are interested in a deal for the Turkish international and both have been attracted to him due to the versatility he has shown for club and country this year.
Fans would love it
West Ham boss David Moyes must sanction a deal to sign Muldur from Sassuolo in the coming months to bolster his squad.
Ryan Fredericks and Ben Johnson, the club's two right-backs behind Coufal, averaged dismal WhoScored ratings of 6.44 and 6.39 respectively, which shows that there is an opening for someone to come in and compete with the Czech international.
Coufal was one of the top performers at the London Stadium in the Premier League. He averaged a score of 6.95, which only four of his teammates were able to better. This highlights the gap in quality between himself and Fredericks/Johnson, which is why Muldur could be an ideal signing ahead of next season to come in and provide healthy competition whilst also pushing for a place in the starting line-up.
Muldur's agent, Max Hagmayr, commented on his future last month and opened up on the possibility of him signing for Napoli. He hailed his client as a “very promising” defender and said that he wants to take the next step in his career.
He told CalcioNapoli:
"In the past, I talked about him with Napoli because Mert is a very promising full-back, still young and who played well against Switzerland as a left-back.
"We will see what happens in the summer.
"Muldur would like to take the next step in his career.
"It’s hard to say now but I can say that all players would be happy to play for Napoli. Right now, he has a contract with Sassuolo until 2024 (but) Mert feels ready for the next step."
The £10k-per-week, aged 22, still has plenty of potential and is far from the finished article, which means that he could the long-term answer to West Ham's right-back position rather than being a player who can come in and make an instant impact.
Muldur averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.97 at the European Championships for Turkey and registered a score of 7.07 in two World Cup qualifiers for his country.
This shows that he has the quality to perform at the top level and he's a player who the fans would love to watch bomb up and down the flank as he is an exciting young talent who has already put in good performances at the international level, playing at both left-back and right-back.
Bringing in versatile, young players to add depth to the squad is something West Ham must be considering as they look to embark on a Europa League campaign, Muldur seems to fit the bill perfectly.
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