Fresh from their weekend hammering at the hands of Manchester United, West Ham are returning their attentions to the transfer market.
And it looks like their bad start to the new season has turned a brighter corner, with one of European football’s most exciting young midfielders close to joining the London Stadium outfit.
Slaven Bilic’s side are reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ to sign Sporting Lisbon bruiser William Carvalho in a £36million deal.
That’s according to Sky Sports’ usually-reliable Kaveh Solhekol, who’s claimed the Hammers target has been left out of Lisbon’s Champions League squad ahead of the proposed move.
Bilic’s side have been heavily linked with the Portuguese midfielder all summer, and were previously quoted as being close to a £27m deal.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP TO PLAY FANTASY FOOTBALL
Premier League rivals West Brom and even Arsenal have been linked with the 25-year-old in the past.
Carvalho is said to be keen to join the east London club, and was left out of Lisbon’s weekend win over Setubal.
Sporting boss Jorge Jesus was quizzed about the players exclusion after the match, saying: “it was to protect William, Sporting… everything.”
You may remember the defensive midfielder during Portugal’s Euro 2016 win in France last summer, starting in their 1–0 win over the hosts at the Stade de France.
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has splashed the cash aplenty this summer, signing Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez in big-money moves as well as loaning England goalkeeper Joe Hart and securing Pablo Zabaleta on a free transfer.