West Ham United achieved something Roma could not at the back end of last season: Win a European final.
The Hammers defeated Fiorentina 2-1 to clinch the Europa Conference League title, ending a 43-year wait for a major trophy, whereas Roma were beaten on penalties by Sevilla in the Europa League equivalent.
That loss for the Italian side could usher in some change, with numerous players – Tammy Abraham among them – tipped to leave this summer, while head coach Jose Mourinho's future is also uncertain.
Amid talk that Roma are negotiating a fee with West Ham for flop striker Gianluca Scamacca, defender Rick Karsdorp may be heading the opposite way as part of the deal.
Are West Ham interested in signing Rick Karsdorp?
That is according to Romagiallorossa.it, who claim West Ham are in the market for a right-back and have identified Karsdorp as an option as part of discussions over the Scamacca sale.
Karsdorp still has two years to run on his reputed £67k-a-week contract at Stadio Olimpico, but a high-profile falling out with Mourinho means the Serie A side are open to offers as long as the Portuguese coach is still in charge.
West Ham are not alone in showing an interest in the three-cap Netherlands international, however, with the likes of Southampton, Bournemouth and Fulham all linked in the January transfer window.
Is Roma's Rick Karsdorp a good fit for West Ham?
Karsdorp had an interesting 2022-23 season to say the least. The 28-year-old started as a regular, before losing his place in the squad entirely and then returning to play seven times – mainly as a substitute – in the second half of the campaign.
Mourinho accused the defender of having an "unprofessional attitude" following a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo last November, and urged him to find a new club in the January window – a transfer that never transpired, despite the speculation at the time.
But Karsdorp, who has himself admitted to having an "arrogant" side to his personality, deserves credit for slightly winning Mourinho over to return to the squad.
On the basis of his on-field displays alone, it is clear to see why David Moyes is interested in bringing Karsdorp to the London Stadium. The Dutchman, who can play at right-back or right wing-back, earned praise for his "incredible" performances from Mourinho prior to falling out.
Karsdorp would effectively be a replacement for Vladimir Coufal, who started 28 games for United in all competitions last season. Both players are similar in terms of playing style, with the former assisting eight league goals in the previous two seasons as a regular, which compares to 11 for Coufal.
They are also alike when it comes to their passing ability, with Karsdorp averaging 36.3 completed passes per 90 minutes in Serie A last season, as per FBref, compared to 34 for Coufal in the Premier League. The former did edge things in terms of pass completion percentage, though – 77.2 v 65.1.
Incredibly, the two players averaged the exact same number of tackles per 90 in their respective leagues last season (2.09), but Karsdorp fared slightly better for tackles won (1.36 v 1.30) and percentage of aerial duels won (77.8 v 62.3).
While there may be little between the pair on the face of it, Karsdorp is only just entering his peak years at the age of 28, and his situation at Roma makes him potentially available for a bargain fee of as little as £4m, as cited by Football Observatory.
Should it be part of the Scamacca deal, not only will West Ham be recouping some money for a flop forward, they will be strengthening at the back at the same time.
