West Ham United look set to sign an attacking midfielder this summer but rather than spending big on Ross Barkley, they should swoop for Southampton’s Dusan Tadic.
According to reports in the Daily Star, the Irons are interested in signing Barkley while SkyBet make the Hammers the 9/4 favourites to bring Tadic to the London Stadium during pre-season.
The former looks set to leave Goodison Park after so far failing to agree terms over a new contract with his current deal due to run out next summer.
Meanwhile the latter fell out with Claude Puel in March and could look for a move away from St Mary’s in the coming weeks.
The Irons board will be keen to significantly back manager Slaven Bilic in the transfer market following a disappointing debut campaign at their new home, and it could be a very busy summer.
Here are three reasons West Ham should sign Tadic over Barkley…
Price tag
While West Ham will undoubtedly want to make some statements in the transfer market this summer, the potential purchase of Barkley could be a bridge too far.
Despite having just a year left on his contract Everton are said to be demanding a fee of at least £50m for the England international, and frankly any club would be mad to offer that.
Meanwhile, Tadic could probably be purchased for around a third of that price – or even less – meaning the Irons would be getting more value for money and the ability to spend their funds elsewhere.
Wages
The report in The Star says that West Ham are willing to meet Barkley’s £140,000-a-week wage demands, but Irons fans may feel that is too much for a player that clearly has great potential, but has failed to show it on a consistent basis.
In addition it could cause unrest among the players, with stories suggesting Michail Antonio was unhappy to be on significantly lower wages than January transfer window additions Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass just weeks ago.
Again, Tadic would accept far lower wages than would be needed to sign the England international and there would be a more content dressing room as a result.
Stats
Over the course of the last three seasons – the amount of time that Dusan Tadic has been playing in the Premier League – Barkley has scored 15 goals and provided a further 18 assists in the Premier League, while the Serbian has netted 14 goals and laid on 25 assists for his teammates.
Those are stats that the Irons and Slaven Bilic will surely take a look at before potentially shelling out more money on Barkley, with the 28-year-old arguably having the ability to make an even bigger impact than the England international next term.
Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.