Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
It seems ever since he moved to Napoli in 2016, every transfer window links Piotr Zieliński to a number of Premier League clubs. This time, there are reports that West Ham are going to make a bid for the Polish midfielder, first rumoured on Twitter before being reported on Friday in a number of British, Polish and Italian papers. The Irons are supposedly seeking Zieliński’s signature after missing out on former loanee Jesse Lingard.
West Ham are supposedly going to bid around £40 million for Zieliński, despite having already brought in midfield reinforcements for similar money already in this window. Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham are all still being linked to him, although Liverpool’s interest has allegedly been little to none for a number of transfer windows now.
Personally, I’ve always been sceptical that Zieliński would leave Italy, given he has spent his entire senior career in the country and that he has undertaken efforts to gain Italian citizenship, including passing a B2 language exam in 2021. This is where the second part of the West Ham rumours come into play.
Allegedly, Milan are also interested in making an offer for Zieliński now that their move for the young Belgian Charles de Ketelaere has stalled. This is probably a much more appealing move given that Milan won the Scudetto and their team has arguably gotten even stronger this summer.
Analysing both of these options for Zieliński, and both are interesting for different reasons. If he moved to West Ham, he would join veteran countryman Łukasz Fabiański in a team that will be playing in a lesser European competition (Conference League), but it would be a strong Premier League team, which is appealing. If he moved to Milan, he would be partaking in Champions League games, in a team of reigning league champions, in the country he has spent all of his career and he is trying to gain the citizenship of for both him and his son. As I said, Milan seems on paper the no-brainer move if you are Zieliński.
Obviously, Napoli would prefer to sell to a team outside of Serie A, if they do indeed sell at all. Given that two of the stars who powered them to a 3rd place finish in the league (Lorenzo Insigne and Kalidou Koulibaly) have already left this summer, you imagine that Aurelio De Laurentiis will try to ensure he doesn’t have to sell any other important players.
Ultimately, if Napoli do decide now is the time to cash in, or Zieliński decides it is time to go, they will probably have different preferences.
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