West Ham Dealt Major Blow In Attempt To Sign Japanese International

West Ham Dealt Major Blow In Attempt To Sign Japanese International

Bologna sporting director Walter Sabatini has ruled out right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu leaving the Serie A side when the transfer window opens.

The Japanese international was linked with both West Ham and Southampton at the end of last month, but Sabatini says he doesn’t think any club could match the player’s valuation in the current financial climate:

“We won’t be selling him because the figure paid would not be sufficient to reflect what a great player he is. Right now nobody is capable of fully evaluating what Tomiyasu is and can become.”

It’s likely that Tomiyasu was being considered as a possible replacement for either Pablo Zabaleta or Jeremy Ngakia. The fullback is only 21 years of age and he would certainly have provided some stiff competition for Ryan Fredericks.



There have, though, been claims in recent days that the Hammers have not given up hope of keeping Ngakia at the London Stadium beyond the end of June.

If they do manage to keep hold of the young right-back, any interest in Tomiyasu would have likely dissipated anyway, but Sabatini’s comments have confirmed that the Japanese star won’t be moving to England this summer.