West Ham are to continue their remarkable summer signing spree by imminently announcing the capture of Corinthians defender Fabian Balbuena, according to a club insider.
Ex-WHU Employee, who is an outstanding source of Hammers news, delivered a key Twitter update on Friday evening as the club look to add to their five confirmed senior arrivals.
He explained West Ham have “started to print Balbuena shirts” and there will be an “announcement soon” from the media team about the completion of the centre-back’s deal.
The club have started to print Balbuena shirts! Announcement soon
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) July 13, 2018
Brazilian side Corinthians confirmed earlier this week that West Ham had met the release clause for Balbuena.
“Corinthians informs that it received a proposal from West Ham United, of England, for Fabian Balbuena,” the statement read on Corinthians’ website.
“The amount offered was the same as the amount required by the other party in the contract renewal, signed two months ago.
“The defender is already cleared for medical examinations for transfer to the London club. The board thanks the services provided in this time of home and wishes luck in the new journey.”
Good move for West Ham?
Possibly. Balbuena has pedigree, as he is a Paraguay international and a regular for one of Brazil’s biggest clubs. But West Ham would surely have been better off spending big on Alfie Mawson, the Swansea City centre-back who is proven in the Premier League and has improved beyond all recognition in the last two seasons. That said, Balbuena is far cheaper and the release clause in his Corinthian contract was set at around £4million. It is easy to see why West Ham have gone for this deal after already sealing the captures this window of Ryan Fredericks, Issa Diop, Lukasz Fabianski, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere.
This Is Futbol rating 5/10
Likely to happen?
This deal is all but done. It is a complicated one as the activation of the release clause was not the final hurdle – West Ham also have to obtain a work permit for a player who has seven international caps but is not a regular for his country. But the fact shirts with Balbeuna’s name on the back are being printed mean it is only a matter of time before he is announced as an Iron.
This Is Futbol rating 9/10