Luis Guilherme completed his £25 million move to West Ham from Palmeiras today, and Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten aren’t finished
West Ham are believed to be closing in on a deal to sign Wes Foderingham as well, whilst Jota Silva is someone who’s being targeted as well.
The Hammers boss and the director of football still have plenty of work to do this summer, if our squad is going to be competitive heading into the 2024/25 season.
Brazilian central defender Vitao is firmly on the West Ham radar, and he could well be the next new arrival at the London Stadium.
Stediten is clearly fond of the Brazilians, so our interest in signing the centre-back is no surprise at all.
The Hammers made a £6.8 million offer for Vitao last week, but now the owners know exactly how much they will have to pay to secure his signature.
West Ham told to increase opening Vitao bid
If Steidten and Lopetegui really want to sign the former Shakhtar Donetsk man, they’ll have to plead with the owners to stump up some more cash.
The Hammers board will have to up their £6.8 million offer for the South American, if they want to sign him.
That’s because UOL are claiming that Internacional are demanding £10 million from West Ham for the 24-year-old centre-back.
Just over £3 million in this day and age is absolute peanuts, so if Lopetegui really wants to sign the Brazilian, he should have no problem bringing him to the London Stadium.
He’s tall, strong in the air, quick along the ground and has real athleticism. On paper, he seems to be the ideal type of centre-back we need.
Vitao is definitely unproven at Premier League level though, so it remains to be see whether the West Ham owners are prepared to pay £10 million to sign him.
With Lucas Paqueta, Luis Guilherme and Luizao at the London Stadium right now, there is a real Brazilian flavour developing at the club.
Will Vitao be the next Samba Boy to arrive in East London? Only time will tell.
