Man City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is reportedly a target for West Ham United, and the Hammers will use Pablo Zabaleta to convince him to make the move.
The 20-year-old has struggled for regular playing time under Pep Guardiola this season, making 29 appearances in all competitions with limited minutes.
He’s still scored seven goals and provided three assists in that time, and so the feeling is that perhaps with a more prominent role, he could be a more effective weapon for a top side.
According to The Sun, with Pablo Zabaleta strongly linked with a move to the Olympic Stadium this summer, West Ham will use the Argentine to help prise Iheanacho away from Manchester in a £25m deal.
The veteran full-back was a mentor to the youngster at the Etihad, and it’s claimed that he could use that relationship with him to persuade him to join him in London and take his career to the next level rather than continue to warm the bench at City.
Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero will keep him down the pecking order, and with Guardiola likely to explore his options to strengthen his squad further this summer, Iheanacho could find himself further down the list by the time the new season comes around.
It’s added from a financial perspective that West Ham are willing to double his £35,000-a-week wages at City, and so it really looks as though Slaven Bilic is keen to land his top target to try and solve their goalscoring problems from last season.