West Ham agree loan to buy deal for international ace, player to sign shortly - reliable journalist
West Ham have agreed a loan to buy deal for Inter Milan's Joao Mario, according to a reliable journalist. Sky Sports reporter Fabrizio Romano claimed that final talks have now started between West Ham and Mario, with the player to officially sign shortly. The news was announced on Romano's official Twitter page on Wednesday afternoon.
This follows an earlier report that claimed West Ham had offered £440k as a loan fee to take Mario for the rest of the deason. Sky Italy, quoted on the
blog (12.41pm) claimed that Inter Milan were holding out for almost three times as much, £1.3m. Sky Sports Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio claimed on his
that personal terms had been agreed. Now it looks like West Ham are putting the finishing touches to the deal before officially announcing the signing.
Football Insider verdict:
With the clubs less than £1m apart earlier today it looked like the deal would happen and this is almost confirmation that the deal is all but done. This is a great move for West Ham, with an option to buy the player if he's a success at the London Stadium. If the paperwork is ticked off quickly and the player passes his medical, he could be available for the FA Cup game with Wigan on Saturday.
In other West Ham transfer news,
.