The agent of Armand Lauriente has confirmed Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United were suitors for the Sassuolo winger in the recent transfer window.
Lauriente has set out on a second season with Sassuolo after joining them from Lorient last summer, but he could have quickly come to the Premier League in an alternate reality.
Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, his representative Roberto Meloni has confirmed which clubs were keen on taking the 24-year-old this year – and it included the Premier League pair.
Meloni said: “Bayer Leverkusen liked him instead of [Moussa] Diaby. Then there was interest from Tottenham and it is no mystery that [Cristiano] Giuntoli likes him, if he had stayed at Napoli…
“In the Premier League there was an attempt by West Ham, but he wants to get to an important level, preferring a second season at Sassuolo to confirm himself.
“He’s growing well with [Alessio] Dionisi, he’s getting on very well. Of course, next year he is on the list of departures with offers of a high level.”
As he alluded to, there is every chance that next summer will be the right time for Lauriente to take the next step of his career.
Meloni confirmed: “I think so, although it will depend on his performance this year. We already had a lot of interest in him, but on a growth level we didn’t feel like leaving Sassuolo for the sake of change. It doesn’t make sense for us.”
Future suitors waiting for Lauriente
Whether or not Tottenham or West Ham try to sign him again next summer, only time will tell. As his agent has acknowledged, it may well depend on how he performs in the coming months.
Last season, Lauriente scored seven goals in 28 Serie A appearances for his new club. Since the new campaign began, he has played six times and in the most recent of those appearances he broke his goalscoring duck for the season, in a win over Juventus.
Lauriente has largely played on the left-hand side, but as a right-footer, he can also operate on the opposite wing when required.
In attacking midfield, West Ham signed Mohammed Kudus from Ajax this summer and Tottenham took Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest, Manor Solomon from Shakhtar Donetsk and James Maddison from Leicester City.
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