David Moyes has revealed that he would be interested in signing Steven Nzonzi if Sevilla decide to sell the French midfielder next month.
West Ham United’s manager is keen to bolster his options in central midfield and is aware that Nzonzi, who has been seen in London this month, has fallen out of favour at Sevilla. Everton’s Sam Allardyce has also expressed an interest in the 29-year-old, who is proven in the Premier League after impressive spells with Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City, but only if he offloads a midfielder first. Moyes suggested that a deal for the France international could be complicated by Sevilla sacking Eduardo Berizzo last week.
“I think he’s somebody who would be of interest to us if he came on the market,” Moyes said. “I wouldn’t say that about others but he’s not playing for some reason at Sevilla – albeit the manager’s gone, so maybe that changes the situation there.”
West Ham’s need to make signings was underlined by the chaotic manner of Saturday’s 3-2 defeat by Newcastle United at the London Stadium. One alternative to Nzonzi is Bournemouth’s Harry Arter. Moyes is also expected to bid for Alfie Mawson, Swansea City’s 23-year-old centre-back. “We’d like to add to the squad if we can and in this position we’ll need to,” the Scot said. “Hopefully we’ll have two or three in consideration.”
West Ham are a point above the bottom three and visit 18th‑placed Bournemouth on Tuesday. They had shown signs of improvement under Moyes, picking up seven points from his first three games, but losing to Rafael Benítez’s Newcastle side deepened their relegation fears. Moyes expects a reaction from his players against Bournemouth.
“I think they’ve handled most things,” Moyes said. “We’ve come through a difficult period of games and probably taken more points than what was expected. [Newcastle] was the first real disappointment. We’ll need to see how we handle it. I have to say, we’ve been near the bottom most of the season. This game would have helped that, so Bournemouth becomes really important.”
Moyes will consider whether to recall Joe Hart after a mixed performance from Adrián, who was arguably at fault for Newcastle’s first goal. “I need to look at it,” Moyes said. “But I’ve got two good goalkeepers and good competition and I’ll need to see what I think once I have a review of the video.”