West Ham United have enlisted the help of Jose Fonte to convince Joao Mario to move to the London Stadium.
The Hammers have been working on a deal to take the Inter midfielder to England, but Mario has been reluctant to so far agree to any switch away from the San Siro.
The Portugal international has attracted interest from a number of clubs, but West Ham have not yet given up on taking him to England.
According to Portuguese sports daily O Jogo, the Hammers are using Mario's fellow Portugal international Fonte in an bid to convince the midfielder to say yes to joining David Moyes' men.
West Ham are facing stiff competition from clubs in Spain for Mario, but hope Fonte can give them the edge.
relatedNewsStory
Inter want to offload Mario in this month's transfer window and have asked his agent Kia Joorabchian to take charge of sorting out his client's future.
Mario wants further time to decide on his future and it remains to be seen if West Ham, who are claimed to have an agreement with Inter on the basis of a loan for €1.5m and a purchase option of €22.5m, will get their man.
