Catalan giants Barcelona have reportedly identified 26-year-old West Ham United midfielder Pablo Fornals as an alternative to Bernardo Silva.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Barcelona might look to sign Pablo Fornals from Premier League club West Ham United before the summer transfer window. The 26-year-old midfielder has emerged as a viable alternative to Bernardo Silva in the past week.
Pablo Fornals was one of the most highly-rated Spanish midfielders before he moved to the Premier League. His exploits for Valencia and Villarreal helped him rise in stature in La Liga before completing the move to West Ham United three years ago.
But the 26-year-old has failed to take his career to the next level at the London Stadium, blowing hot and cold in the last three seasons. Nonetheless, Fornals has been a regular for West Ham, featuring nearly 150 times for the Hammers. And he has now popped up on the radar of Barcelona over a late move this summer.
The summer transfer window has been a resounding success for Barcelona, with Joan Laporta successfully activating multiple financial levers to ease the financial burden. In addition, they have bolstered various departments to become a genuinely world-class squad.
But Barcelona also wanted to bring in another midfielder apart from Franck Kessie to reinforce Xavi Hernandez’s creative options, with Bernardo Silva being their priority target. But the Portuguese playmaker is likely going nowhere before the summer transfer window shuts down, despite late interest from PSG.
With Silva likely remaining at Manchester City, Fornals has emerged on Barcelona’s radar. The 26-year-old has previous experience in La Liga and might hit the ground running if he arrives at Camp Nou before the summer transfer window shuts down. However, convincing West Ham to sell the Spanish midfielder might be an uphill task for Barcelona.
Fornals is a pivotal figure for David Moyes, and he recently starred in a 1-0 win for West Ham against Aston Villa in a Premier League clash. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if the 26-year-old joins Barcelona for West Ham as the summer transfer window draws to a close.