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The Mirror reports that West Ham manager David Moyes is flying to Italy on Sunday to watch Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario play against Roma ahead of a prospective loan move to the London Stadium for the rest of the season.
The Portuguese international joined the Italian club from Sporting Lisbon 18 months ago in a £38 million deal, but has struggled to impress at the San Siro, and the club are now willing to let him move, either on loan or in a permanent deal.
West Ham are reportedly ready to take the player on loan for the rest of the season, but Moyes wants to personally run the rule over Mario before making a final decision.
Moyes has made the recruitment of a central midfielder his main priority in the January transfer window, and Mario would appear to fit the bill, provided that his confidence and form have not been damaged by his unhappy spell at Inter.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.