West Ham Eyeing Up A Shock Move For Italy Captain Fabio Cannavaro?

Chris Wright

26th, May 2010

4 Comments

By Chris Wright


This one has the faint whiff of bullsh*t about it, but a rumour’s a rumour so let’s run with it…

West Ham are reportedly set to take advantage of veteran Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro‘s stalled contract negotiations at Juventus by offering the former World Player of the Year a lucrative (I’m guessing £100,000-a-week plus) short-term contract to see out his illustrious career at Upton Park.

The 36-year-old Cannavaro recently admitted that the Bianconeri have yet to offer him a new deal, meaning that he may go into the World Cup this summer as a free agent.

The Hammers are keen to start rebuilding their squad after last season’s short-comings and co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan, having previously failed in a bid to lure Thierry Henry from Barcelona on a similar basis, seem keen to add some world class experience to their ranks.

However, West Ham’s plans may be scuppered by the fact that Cannavaro (who lifted the World Cup with Italy in 2006) has hinted that he may choose the culmination of his country’s progress during this summer’s tournament in South Africa as the perfect juncture to call time on his glittering career.

There you go. What do you make of that then?

Personally, I’d have loved to have seen Cannavaro tested in the Prem – but about 5 years ago, whilst he was in his prime.

He may still be able to cut it in Serie A but I’m not sure if his ageing bones would be able to stand up to the rigours of English football week-in-week-out, and therefore would end up having to be marked down as a (very) costly folly.