West Ham United must sacrifice attacker Lucas Perez if they are to sign reported target Gabriel Barbosa, according to journalist Nicolo Schira.
The Gazzetta dello Sport reporter revealed the news on his personal Twitter account, claiming that the Hammers must sell Perez before they can complete any move for the man known as ‘Gabigol’.
Earlier on Thursday Calcio Mercato reported that West Ham’s move for the Inter Milan striker was being held up by work permit issues.
Schira stated that Barbosa does not want to return to Brazil with Flamengo, and would instead prefer to continue his career in England.
Il #WestHam rallenta per #Gabigol: gli Hammers devono prima cedere Lucas Perez. Il brasiliano non convinto dal ritorno in Brasile al #Flamengo, preferirebbe rilanciarsi in Europa. Occhio al #Fulham di Ranieri che ha chiesto informazioni tramite intermediari #calciomercato #Inter
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) January 3, 2019
OPINION
This is certainly an interesting development. Earlier on Thursday it was a work permit that was preventing the Hammers from signing Barbosa, now it’s the presence of Perez. Why Perez, in particular, needs to be sold for the club to be able to sign Barbosa is unknown, and this isn’t an update that many people will have seen coming. Perhaps it’s something to do with foreign players in the West Ham squad, which would explain why Andy Carroll isn’t being lined up for a potential exit instead of Perez. Either way it would be pretty strange for Manuel Pellegrini to give up on Perez mere months after signing him, even if it would help him sign Barbosa. The Brazilian does seem to be someone the Hammers genuinely want to bring in, but surely there are other ways that don’t involve selling a player who has actually made positive steps forward in the last month or so?