West Ham have reportedly met the release clause of Corinthians defender Fabian Balbuena, according to a reliable club source.
As reported by the reliable West Ham source ExWHUemployee on Twitter, the club have met the defenders release clause, with just personal terms and a work permit needed to secure the Paraguayan’s signature.
We have now paid the release clause! So this transfer has moved forward significantly! Personal terms and permits need to be obtained https://t.co/zuaCvRFzzG
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) July 7, 2018
As reported by Sky Sports, the 26-year-old will now travel to London for a medical, after his club released a statement saying that Manuel Pellegrini’s side have matched their valuation for the defender.
The 6ft 1in Paraguay international has made 80 appearances for the Brazilian club, scoring six goals and providing a single assist (TransferMarkt).
OPINION
This is a tricky one to call. It all depends on what the size of the fee is, as that hasn’t been confirmed yet, because that determines how much of a risk this transfer is for West Ham. It’s difficult to accurately identify the ability of Fabian Balbuena as he’s played in the Brazilian domestic league for the last couple of seasons and there have been so many players come from that division to the Premier League, with varied results. If it’s a relatively low fee then this could be a good signing, Manuel Pellegrini needs new defenders and this transfer would allow him to strengthen the team in that position. If it’s a high fee then Hammers fans need to trust in their manager, scouts and board that this player will be good enough to play in the Premier League, which is worrying considering the number of poor signings by the club over the last few years. Fan’s will soon find out if Pellegrini knows what he’s doing.
