West Ham manager David Moyes is interested in signing Ross Barkley if his club fail to re-sign Jesse Lingard, according to 90min.
The Hammers are preparing for Europa League football next season and re-signing Lingard will be a main priority, considering that the 28-year-old scored nine Premier League goals for the club while on loan from Manchester United.
Barkley spent last season on loan with Aston Villa and impressed in parts as he scored three goals for the club from 24 Premier League appearances as per Transfermarkt.
The 27-year-old is seemingly now surplus to requirements at Chelsea and the Blues will likely be looking to offload him this summer.
While the attacking midfielder’s quality has never been in doubt, West Ham should stay away from signing him.
Barkley has recurring injury problems and off-field problems have plagued his career. An England international since 2013, there is a good chance that he would have been a first-team regular for the Three Lions had he had more discipline and professionalism.
Should West Ham fail to sign Lingard, there are other options that they can explore signing such as West Brom’s Matheus Pereira. The South American was a standout player for the relegated Baggies last season as he scored 11 Premier League goals as per Transfermarkt.
Considering that West Brom were relegated, Pereira is unlikely to be expensive and at 25-years-old, still has room for improvement as a player.
Barkley is still capable of churning out match-winning displays but he is unlikely to get better at this stage of his career.
