West Ham United have identified a young central defender from the Portuguese league who is available within the club’s price range, according to ExWHUemployee.
The reliable club source revealed that the defender is relatively inexperienced and unproven in the senior league, as West Ham target defensive reinforcements.
ExWHUemployee reported on his personal Twitter account that Hammers’ scouts believe that the youthful enforcer holds a lot of potential, with Claret and Hugh suggesting the club will make one signing before Thursday’s deadline.
West Ham were reported to be interested in New York Red Bull’s Aaron Long, with Sky Sports revealing the defender was hopeful of gaining a work permit to secure a move.
Now it has been claimed by football.london that the Irons are closing in on a deal for this unnamed Portuguese teenager.
OPINION
The excitement appears to be growing surrounding this potential deal at West Ham. There is no doubting that the Hammers need reinforcements at the back after Manuel Pellegrini’s men were shipping goals at ease during pre-season and were given a get out of jail free card from their free-scoring forwards on more than one occasion. The identity of the defender is under wraps at this moment, but ExWHUemployee did confirm that they are unproven but with a lot of room to improve, surely proving that they are set to play back up to both Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena, who will be able to play as mentors to the youngster who will be expected to push the older duo consistently throughout the season. This is a smart move by Pellegrini, who knows that a more experienced signing would be more than likely set to cause a problem by demanding first-team football on arrival. A young prospect will surely be happy to come in and learn during his first season to set him up for those consistent minutes.
