West Ham have acknowledged that they have no intention of signing Flamengo forward Pedro, who has been widely reported as a possible target for the club today.
The Daily Mirror said that technical director Tim Steidten remained in Brazil in the hope of signing the player after West Ham’s bid to sign Alberto with Corinthians fell through.
Pedro, a Brazilian international with a £51 million release clause, has been advised by a senior source that signing him will be impossible and that the manager has no interest in him anyhow.
That may come as a surprise given the player’s stellar record for Flamengo, where he scored 94 goals in 197 games.
Even if Moyes changed his mind, it would be hard to get him in at this late stage, with our insider exclusively telling us: “There’s no chance on Pedro.” The management doesn’t like him, and he’s still in Brazil, making it impossible to travel in and get a physical and so on in time.”
However, he continued, “There is a small chance of somebody else arriving before the window closes.”
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West Ham United may be forced to sell one star to avoid Premier League rule breach
According to the Evening Standard, West Ham may be compelled to sell one of its players in order to avoid breaking Premier League rules.
The newspaper stated on its website on 30 August that the Hammers may be forced to sell a foreign player before the transfer deadline on Friday (1 September), with just 17 of the 25-man squad allowed to be foreign-born.
Following the arrivals of Edson Alvarez, Konstantinos Mavropanos, and Mohammed Kudus, another foreign player may be forced to follow Manuel Lanzini and Gianluca Scamacca in leaving East London this summer if a new deal is not made within the next 36 hours.
West Ham will almost certainly be forced to let another non-homegrown player leave during this window, as the club is anxious to sign an abroad forward.
Tim Steidten, the Irons’ technical director, is presently in Brazil attempting to make a deal for a new striker, which means someone must be given the exit door.
The most likely possibility appears to be Maxwell Cornet, who has struggled to impress since joining from Burnley last year, with the Daily Mail reporting on August 31 that the Hammers are in negotiations with Everton about allowing the Ivory Coast international’s transfer.
Given that he has slipped well down the pecking order under David Moyes, it would not be surprising to see the versatile forward leave.
He hasn’t had much of an opportunity to impress and could yet establish his worth for us, but if his departure allows for the arrival of a new striker, it’s a necessary step.
In other West Ham news, the club has set their sights on a £51 million-rated attacker.
