West Ham are set to abandon their pursuit of Barcelona defender Marlon Santos, according to an insider.
Ex-WHU Employee, which is an extremely reliable source Hammers news, has reported in an exchange with a supporter on his personal Twitter account that the Londoners are likely to pull out of a move for the centre-back, 22, after reports in Spain they were due to sign him for a fee of nearly £16million.
Fabianski is pretty much done (not sure why not announced), Diop fee agreed but personal terms an issue, Anderson negotiations still on going Lazio expect to sell. Mawson negotiations on going. Santos like to be pulled. Think there everyone https://t.co/vyKqJ3MwRO
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) June 17, 2018
Mundo Deportivo reported last week that West Ham were closing in on Santos for a fee of between £13.2million and £15.9million, and that “everything seems to indicate that the agreement is very close”.
OPINION
No journalist or blogger has their finger on the West Ham pulse quite like Ex-WHU Employee, who leaves the established media trailing in his wake when it comes to delivering all news about the club. If he says Santos is now off, then that will surely be the case. When it comes to transfers, they can be on one day and off the next, but the Spanish media appear to have jumped the gun when it comes to Santos joining the Hammers. Perhaps West Ham have got cold feet over the 22-year-old’s lack of physicality, a key issue for any centre-back set for the Premier League. Standing at 6ft (source: Transfermarkt), he is not a giant and there will be question marks as to whether he can cope with the physicality of the English top flight. Other targets like Swansea City’s Alfie Mawson appear to represent a lower risk. The centre-back has spent the last two years in the Premier League and has proved he can cut it against elite attackers. West Ham would be far better off pushing to sign him than Santos.
