Boavista defender Goncalo Cardoso is on the verge of completing a £2.75m move to West Ham, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster claim that the 18-year-old centre-back will become the Hammers’ fifth signing of the summer transfer window if a deal goes through, with Manuel Pellegrini’s side close to agreeing a deal with Boavista for him.
Reliable Hammers source ExWHUemployee previously claimed West Ham had identified a young central defender from the Portuguese league, with Football.London stating that the London club were close to signing a new defender who if recruited would challenge Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena for a place in the first-team.
OPINION
It seems very likely that Cardoso is the player ExWHUemployee and Football.London were referring to, as he fits the profile. The 6ft 2in tall 18-year-old (Source: Transfermarkt) has made 15 appearances in Portugal’s top-flight since making his debut for Boavista in October and could be a shrewd signing by all accounts. Cardoso helped Portugual’s U-19s reach the final of the European Championship in July, which shows his potential, as he played every minute of the tournament for them. However, Cardoso does face a tough battle featuring for the Hammers’ first-team off the bat and should be treated as a work in process. WhoScored list several weakness that the teenaged enforcer has, including his passing, and given his age it’s likely he is still honing his craft. Yet given that he has featured for Boavista’s first-team at such a young age, then he’ll likely put in the work to break into Pellegrini’s plans sooner rather than later.
