Sam Allardyce makes Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb his number one target
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has reportedly made Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb his number one target for the transfer window.
The talented playmaker has been a bitter disappointment since moving from Arsenal in 2008 for a fee of around £13m and manager Pep Guardiola has decided to let his man find another club. His contract, where he is rumoured to be getting £90,000-a-week, is up in the summer but the Barcelona board are more than happy to sell the player on a free now.
This has alerted a whole host of clubs in the Premier League, including Liverpool and Sunderland, but it’s the Championship league leaders who have emerged as the front runners.
Allardyce has been taking his time this transfer window to find the right kind of player that he feels could be the difference between automatic promotion and finishing in the playoffs. He’s had a reported £7m bid for Rangers striker Nikica Jelavić rejected and now has turned his attention on convincing Hleb to join the Hammers until the end of the season.
Hleb obviously wouldn’t come cheap in terms of wages however, even if just for a six months, and Hammers fans should be worried about whether the player still has the same ability that made him such a hit at Arsenal.
Injuries have seemingly taken its toll on Hleb, who has had failed loan spells at Birmingham, Stuggart and most recently Wolfsburg since becoming surplus to requirements under Guardiola.
That spell at Wolfsburg was terminated early by the German club six months early, after the 30-year-old struggled to find any sort of form, making just four appearances.
