Burnley are interested in Coventry City’s Dutchman Gustavo Hamer. Last week it was reported that Fulham were planning

to make a move for the midfielder, but now Vincent Kompany wants to add the 26-year-old to his selection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hamer has been spectacular for Coventry City ever since he joined from PEC Zwolle in the summer of 2020. Last season he

featured 44 times in the Championship, scoring 11 goals and providing 10 assists. The Sky Blues made it all the way to the

playoff final before losing on penalties to Luton Town. Despite missing out on promotion to the Premier League, it looks

likely that Hamer will be handed the chance to play in the top flight next season.

 

Vincent Kompany and Marco Silva are said to be big fans of Gustavo Hamer. The former Netherlands youth international

has just entered the final year of his contract at Coventry, which might make a departure more likely.

 

Gustavo Hamer kicked off his career with Feyenoord. In 2018 he joined FC Dordrecht on loan, where he made 34

appearances in the Dutch second tier before joining PEC Zwolle. Coventry signed the Dutch centre-midfielder for just £1m,

and he’s proven to be a bargain for Mark Robins’ side. A Premier League move is looming for the Brazilian-born midfielder

West Ham: Moyes could repeat Zabaleta trick with Taylor Harwood-Bellis

 

Who have West Ham signed so far?

United have waved goodbye to Manuel Lanzini since the end of last season, while Declan Rice’s £105m switch to Arsenal is

on the brink of going through, but no new players have been brought in.

 

After kicking off their pre-season campaign with a 4-1 win over Boreham Wood at the weekend, it looks likely that West

Ham are now in a position to start getting deals over the line.

 

Denis Zakaria and Luiz Felipe are reportedly close to arriving from Juventus and Real Betis respectively, while Daily Mail

reporter Jack Gaughan suggests the Hammers are also showing an “interest” in Manchester City youngster Taylor Harwood-

Bellis.

 

It is claimed that London rivals Fulham are also interested in the England U21 international, who is valued at £15m by

City as he enters the final year of his existing contract.

Is Taylor Harwood-Bellis a good player?

The 21-year-old’s stock is particularly high at this moment in time as he has just skippered England U21s to their first

European title in 39 years, fresh on the back of winning the Championship with Burnley last season.

 

Harwood-Bellis was stood out in the heart of the second tier’s best defence last season, leading the way as he

did among Burnley players for interceptions (1.8 per game), blocks (0.7 per game) and aerial duels won (2.8 per game), as

per WhoScored.

 

The defender has also impressed on loan at Anderlecht, Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers, with the then-manager of the

latter, Tony Mowbray, hailing his “warrior” like attitude in wanting to win every ball.

 

Burnley do not appear to be in the running to sign Harwood-Bellis permanently, but the Englishman is clearly now ready to

make the step up to the Premier League, rather than spending another year learning his trade elsewhere.

 

If those aforementioned statistics were not enough to tempt West Ham, the Irons have a good success rate when it comes to

signing players from City down the years, including fellow defender Pablo Zabaleta in 2017.

 

Zabaleta was at a completely different stage of his career than Harwood-Bellis, having arrived at West Ham as a 32-year-old

with 12 seasons of top-flight football under his belt, but the omens are certainly positive.

 

The former Argentina international would go on to play 80 times for West Ham over three seasons, before announcing his

retirement in an emotional open letter on the club’s official website in 2020.

 

Harwood-Bellis, who has been on City’s books since 2008, will hope to have an even bigger impact than Zabaleta should he

join West Ham. Like Zabaleta, the Stockport native will arrive with a point to prove, having been effectively deemed not

good enough for City.

 

As a player who ranks in the top 1% of all centre-backs over the past year for passes attempted in the eight leagues most

comparable to the Championship (85.09 per 90), as per FBref, and in the top 11% for interceptions (1.92 per 90), there is no

reason why Harwood-Bellis cannot now make a name for himself in the Premier League for a number of years to come –

much like Zabaleta did across his spells with City and West Ham.