West Ham are interested in signing Cagliari forward Giovanni Simeone this summer, as revealed by Calciomercato.

What's the latest transfer news on Simeone?

The 25-year-old, who is the son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego, has spent the last five seasons in Italy since moving to Genoa from River Plate in 2016. He has since moved on to Fiorentina and then Cagliari, but he could now be given the chance to leave Serie A to play in the Premier League.

West Ham reportedly want to sign Simeone on loan for a year while paying a €1m (£860,000) fee, with the option to buy the player outright at the end of the campaign, although Cagliari are believed to be unconvinced by this proposal.

What were Simeone's stats in 2020/21?

The Argentine international started the season in excellent form, scoring five goals in his first six league matches.

However, he only scored one more goal for the rest of the year as Cagliari battled for survival in Italy's top-flight for most of the term.

They ended up finishing down in 16th place, just four points above the drop zone, and Simeone had a relatively disappointing season, receiving an average game rating of 6.45 from WhoScored - this saw him rank 18th amongst his teammates.

What did Zidane say about Simeone?

Simeone may not have had the best year for Cagliari in 2020/21, but he has still done enough to impress one of the best managers in the world in recent years.

Back in 2018, Zidane heaped praise on the attacker after he had netted a hat-trick against Napoli to hand Juventus the advantage in that year's title race.

Speaking to Italian TV, as reported by Tribal Football, Zidane said: "Giovanni has been very good.

"I'm happy for him and also for Juve, I thank him also for the Bianconeri, I really like him as a footballer."

Would Simeone be a good signing for West Ham?

Simeone has hardly set Serie A alight over the past season, but when looking at the bigger picture, this could actually be a smart move by West Ham to bring him over to England.

Across the last five years, Simeone has scored 50 league goals in 179 appearances, indicating that he knows how to find the target.

Perhaps some observers, including Zidane, may have expected him to kick on more than he has, but it should also be pointed out that he has featured in Italian sides struggling towards the bottom end of the table for much of his career, where chances are harder to come by.

A change of scenery and the opportunity to play for a club who are going to be playing in Europe next year could be just what Simeone needs to finally fulfill his potential. 

The Hammers could then assess his progress over the first year before deciding whether they want to sign him permanently at the end of the year.

West Ham have done some fine business in recent transfer windows by getting the likes of Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen over to east London. If they can get their hands on Simeone, he could be the next success story at the club under David Moyes.