Agent reveals Premier League move is ‘a dream’ for West Ham target Gabigol
Gabriel Barbosa’s agent has confirmed that West Ham made an offer for his player this January and has admitted it would be ‘a dream’ to play in the Premier League.
The Hammers made a loan move for the Brazil international earlier this month which was rejected [Fabrizio Romano], and the club are yet to return with another offer.
‘Gabigol’ is reportedly keen on the move away from Flamengo [Dharmesh Sheth] and now his agent has confirmed in an interview with Globo Esporte that the offer was real and the player sees a move to England as ‘a dream’.
“The other club that actually went about with a formalisation of a loan offer was West Ham. And then I didn’t even take that offer to Gabriel, I directed it to Flamengo, who turned it down,” he said.
“Flamengo doesn’t see a loan as a possibility, even paying a fortune, and we wouldn’t consider a loan at the moment either.”
“The European project is certainly consistent because every player of his level wants to play in a more competitive league,” the agent explained.
“When you think about a Premier League, which is what has been knocking on our door a lot, it’s almost a dream for a player of his level to be playing at this level of the league for an entire season.
“So, for sure this is a wish, it was never hidden from Flamengo that at some point it was inevitable for Gabriel to return to Europe. This is very clear, but we will not return to Europe at any cost. It has to be a very good project to convince Gabriel to come back.
“It doesn’t make sense to him [otherwise]. He’s in his environment, in one of the biggest clubs in the world and the fans are in awe of him. There’s a wonderful image built here in Brazil. For sure if he leaves, it will affect a lot. He has to go to a wonderful project, much bigger than he has today.”
Needed
West Ham need a striker who can score goals. Gabriel Barbosa is a striker who scores goals. It seems like a match made in heaven right?
Well it would if Flamengo were willing to accept a loan deal initially, or West Ham were willing to take the gamble on the Brazil international.
But after his huge struggles with Inter Milan in his first stint in the European game, it’s no surprise that Moyes isn’t willing to take that risk considering how many striker signings the club have got wrong over recent years.
Barbosa would also want to play regularly and with Michail Antonio the undisputed number one striker at the club right now, he would need to bide his time and work towards earning the shirt.
This deal seems like one that never really got off the ground, but both clubs remain interested and it could be something that carries over into the summer market.
In other West Ham news, ‘Going places’ – Sky Sports pundit makes West Ham player claim as transfer question posed