West Ham considering move for Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta

Slaven Bilic’s West Ham secured their Premier League status with an impressive 1-0 win over title challengers Tottenham last weekend.

The Hammers have endured a tough debut season in the London Stadium, yet this was arguably their best performance in their new home with a Manuel Lanzini strike in the second half enough to see off an under-par Spurs on Friday night.

And with top-flight status sealed for the East London outfit, they appear to be focusing on bolstering their options ahead of next season as, according to The Sun, they have given Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta a Premier League lifeline as his contract at the Etihad Stadium runs out this summer.

The 32-year-old has been at City since 2008 and been a stalwart in their backline, making 331 appearances for the club and helping them to two Premier League titles, as well as an FA Cup triumph in 2011.

However, it doesn’t look like his contract will be extended at the Manchester club, and with Pep Guardiola expected to overhaul his squad in the upcoming transfer window, it looks like Zabaleta’s nine-year stay at the club will come to an end in the next month or so.

Yet Bilic’s Hammers are looking to him to solve their own defensive issues, and are reportedly willing to offer him a two-year deal on £100,000-a-week to make the move to East London.

West Ham have struggled in the right-back department this season, with the likes of Cheikhou Kouyate, Sam Byram, Sofiane Feghouli, and Havard Nordtveit all trying their hands at the role but with limited success, so a move for an experienced Premier League defender makes complete sense.

Whether he does indeed move to the London Stadium remains to be seen, but what seems clear is that Zabaleta’s future is away from Man City.