West Ham to challenge Tottenham for 24-year-old Serie A star

West Ham United join Tottenham Hotspur AS Roma defender Roger Ibanez race

Premier League rivals West Ham United have joined Tottenham Hotspur in the race for AS Roma centre-back Roger Ibanez, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport via Spanish outlet Fichajes.com.

The Brazil international’s current contract with the Serie A giants runs until June 2025. However, the Giallorossi are open to the defender’s departure in the ongoing transfer window for €25 million.

To that end, the 24-year-old is on the radar of the North London side as well as the Hammers. The player was previously been linked with the likes of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

Roma signed Ibanez in January 2020 from Atalanta. Since then, the Brazilian has been a key player for the Giallorossi and has cemented his place in the Italian outfit’s starting lineup.

Under Jose Mourinho over the last two years, the defender has gone from strength to strength. The former Tottenham manager has heavily relied on the 24-year-old to bring success to the Rome-based club.

In the 2021/22 campaign, Roma lifted their first silverware in a long time, triumphing in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The Portuguese head coach also led them to the Europa League final last season. But they lost to Sevilla.

Tottenham have been underwhelming defensively over the last several months. Antonio Conte was expected to make us more resolute. However, we saw the exact opposite under the Italian head coach.

In the previous campaign, the North London side were soft and weak at the back. Spurs struggled to keep clean sheets and had a hard time holding onto leads.

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Thus, adding quality to the defence should evidently be one of our priorities this summer. However, with Tottenham not in any European competition and West Ham in the UEL next season, will the Hammers be able to entice Ibanez away from us? It remains to be seen.