OPINION
The current situation at Sporting Lisbon is unprecedented in the recent history of European football, with six senior players now having ripped up their contracts at the club to enter free agency.
A brutal attack by masked hooligans on players at the Primeira Liga club’s training ground has left several stars disillusioned, while also giving them ‘just cause’ to walk away from their contracts.
This turn of events is set to ignite a transfer frenzy surround those seven released players, and West Ham would do brilliantly to swoop for two in particular: Gelson Martins and William Carvalho.
Hammers fans will remember Carvalho was at the centre of the club’s row with Sporting a year ago, with Lisbon taking issue with the club’s pursuit of the Portugal international enforcer.
The European Championship winner is now available for free, and there is no reason why West Ham should not move for him once again, away from the prying eyes of Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho.
The defensive midfielder would be a perfect addition to the Hammers squad, which is in desperate need of midfield reinforcements.
23-year-old winger Martins is another player who would fit in perfectly at the London Stadium, with the club quite obviously searching for a new wide man this summer.
The Hammers are currently in talks with Lazio over a deal for Brazilian winger Felipe Anderson in a deal which is set to cost around £30million.
They should instead look to speed demon Martins, who is two years younger than Anderson and would cost absolutely nothing this summer.
The winger scored 13 goals and registered 13 assists in 2017/18, far better stats than his Lazio counterpart, and the Hammers could badly do with that kind of output from wide areas.
A double swoop for the former Sporting teammates makes perfect sense for the Hammers, and they must move quickly to begin talks for the duo with other clubs sure to be lining up bids.
