Writing on their official website (5 October), the Spanish news outlet report that the Hammers are keen to strengthen their attacking positions and have identified the three-time England international as an ideal target.
Smith Rowe has struggled for game time at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta in recent seasons and the Gunners would be willing to let him leave for between £35-£40m
“West Ham United are determined to keep their interest in talented 23-year-old playmaker Emile Smith Rowe alive, according to recent reports,” they wrote.
“The midfielder, who has had a difficult start to the season at Arsenal, could be in the Hammers’ sights in the upcoming January transfer window.
“Arsenal are reportedly willing to sell Smith Rowe in the January transfer window for an estimated £35 million to £40 million, considering the player still has three years left on his contract.”
There’s no doubting that the Arsenal playmaker is a fantastic talent, and it’s no surprise to see that he was labelled as “exceptional” in the report linking him to West Ham.
But it is difficult to see where he would really fit in at the London Stadium right now considering the abundance of talent we have in attacking areas.
Smith Rowe’s best position is on the left hand side or in the number ten role and we already have the likes of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals who can play those positions to a high level.
Maxwel Cornet is also an option for the wing and while Kudus is also capable of playing as a striker or on the right, without one of those players leaving it’s hard to see how he’d get a lot more minutes here than he is at the Emirates.
Smith Rowe would be an exciting arrival as a young, talented English player but it wouldn’t make much sense so it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months.
In other West Ham news, Darren Bent names West Ham star in argument on talkSPORT amid Maddison comparison.
