West Ham: Moyes could replace Rice with “exceptional” Fofana

With West Ham United rejecting the latest big-money bid for Declan Rice, this time from Manchester City, it is clear the Hammers are being serious with their £100m valuation of the midfielder.

While that saga continues to drag on, with the ball now firmly in Arsenal’s court, West Ham will no doubt be on the lookout for midfield recruits of their own.

What is the latest with Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana?
Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana is one of those to have been touted as a target for David Moyes’ side earlier this month, but they have now been joined in the race by Premier League rivals Arsenal and Newcastle United.

According to L’Equipe, it is likely that Fofana will be sold to the highest bidder, with a fee of around €35m (£30m) possibly enough to prise him away from the Principality club.

That may seem like a high valuation for a player with a year left to run on his contract, but Monaco have the option to extend that by a further 12 months, so they are not in desperate need to sell.

Is Youssouf Fofana a good option for West Ham?
First things first: No matter which midfield target West Ham sign this summer, they will not tick as many boxes as outgoing Rice. Then again, none of their targets will cost a nine-figure sum.

Fofana is the same age as Rice, the pair play in the same central-midfield position and they were each regulars for teams in Europe’s top five leagues, so comparing the two only makes sense.

Rice added an attacking edge to his game last season, and that reflects in the statistics as he averaged 0.16 goals and assists per 90 minutes, as per FBref, compared to 0.09 for Fofana.

There are plenty of similarities in other areas, however, such as their number of shots on target (23.9% for Rice and 24.6% for Fofana), their shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (2.54 v 2.41), with that metric factoring in passes and take-ons leading up to a shot, and tackles won (1.26 per 90 v 1.30).

The pair also won a very similar number of aerial duels (58.3% for Rice, compared to 56% for Fofana), which all suggests the Monaco man would be a good like-for-like replacement alongside Tomas Soucek, or indeed another new midfielder Moyes brings in.

Fofana is not exactly an under-the-radar gem, having already been capped ten times by France at senior level. Indeed, the Paris-born midfielder showed he can more than hold his own alongside some of the game’s biggest names, with Statman Dave hailing his “exceptional” debut against Austria last September.

That game showcased many of Fofana’s qualities, as he completed 100% of his dribbles, won 12 out of 14 ground duels and played one key pass. It is in terms of take-ons Fofana arguably brings something a little different to Rice that West Ham could do with, completing 1.36 per 90 last season to the Englishman’s 1.02.

Potentially available for less than a third of the sum they will get for Rice, West Ham must ensure they are ahead of their Premier League rivals in the race to sign the talented Fofana.