ExWHUemployee has claimed that West Ham United’s mooted move for Gabriel Barbosa could be off as the Hammers only want him on loan.
Since the January transfer window opened, the Brazilian striker has been linked with a move to east London. Indeed, Sky Sports recently claimed that the Flamengo forward regularly watches the Hammers’ matches and is impressed with David Moyes.
While discussing the rumour on The West Ham Way podcast, Ex stated that while there is ‘interest’ in the player, the club are cautious about signing him permanently as he has not played in England before.
Would you take Gabriel Barbosa on a permanent deal at West Ham?
Yes
No
He went on to explain that the player’s agent has been in touch and discussions were had about a loan deal. However, it looks as though Flamengo would only be looking to sell their player on a permanent deal, meaning a move to West Ham currently seems unlikely.
He said: “There is interest. We want them, however, on a loan deal, because we’ve always got this caution, and I think it’s probably related to the likes of Felipe Anderson and Sebastian Haller and stuff – that they might be good in the Brazilian league or the Dutch league or the German league or wherever it may be, but can they do it on a cold, windy night in Stoke or whatever; can they do it in England?
“So they want to loan the player before buying him. And so that’s the case with Barbosa. The agent got in touch, a tentative discussion about whether they’d be considered for a loan move came about.
“And at the moment, I don’t think his club want to loan him. I think they want to sell him, so that transfer isn’t going to be close unless either side shifts their stance.”
TIF Thoughts on Gabriel Barbosa and West Ham United…
As Ex references, West Ham have bought highly rated players from foreign leagues who have failed to adapt to Premier League football. For instance, in 2018, Felipe Anderson joined for a club-record £36m, but after scoring just 12 goals in 73 appearances, he was sold back to Lazio three years later.
Similarly, they took a reported £25m loss on Sebastien Haller when they sold him to Ajax after he initially arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt for £45m.
This would explain their hesitancy over splashing out on Barbosa. He has played most of his football in Brazil of late, and when he was in Europe at Inter, he scored just once in 10 appearances.
If West Ham and Flamengo stick to their guns, it’s hard to see a deal going through.
In other news: ‘The dots are starting to line up’ – Presenter drops ‘promising’ West Ham transfer claim