Rumoured West Ham transfer target Matteo Guendouzi may now be set to leave Marseille at the end of the season, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Do West Ham want Guendouzi?
The Frenchman enjoyed four years at Arsenal between 2018 and 2022, making 82 appearances for the Gunners, prior to joining Marseille last year. The £42,000-a-week midfielder has enjoyed a good season for the Ligue 1 giants, playing 30 times in the league and enjoying six outings in the Champions League.
In recent days, West Ham have been linked with a summer move for Guendouzi, with the Hammers eyeing him up as Declan Rice's replacement, should he leave the London Stadium this summer. Guendouzi's current Marseille deal runs until 2025, but it could be that he leaves well before that date.
Now, a new update has emerged regarding what the ex-Arsenal man's next step could be, amid plenty of interest from Premier League clubs.
Could Guendouzi leave Marseille?
Taking to Twitter, Romano confirmed that Guendouzi could depart Marseille once this season reaches its conclusion, acting as a boost to West Ham:
"Matteo Guendouzi could leave OM in the summer, it’s concrete possibility as he’s attracting interest in Premier League. Aston Villa are tracking him since long time — there are also other clubs keen on signing Guendouzi."
Guendouzi could be an excellent signing by the Hammers this season, having matured since his Arsenal games and become a more complete midfielder. Now 24, and with seven caps to his name for a star-studded France side, he could also be ready to find a new gear and he possesses similar attributes to Rice, enjoying an 88.2% pass completion rate in Ligue 1 and 88.6% in the Champions League.
On top of that, he has similar leadership skills, having a spikiness to his game and being hailed as a "great professional" by Arne Friedrich, and also "fantastic" by Gary Neville. He could see a return to the Premier League as the best possible challenge for him at this point in his career and he could be loved at West Ham with his tenacity and fight, even though he would be filling some big shoes, assuming Rice does move on to pastures new.
In an ideal world, the Hammers would actually have both Rice and Guendouzi alongside one another next season, but if the latter replacing the former is the best possible outcome, it could certainly help ease the blow of losing arguably their most important player.
