West Ham United sent Crystal Palace flop warning after completing Luis Guilherme transfer
Dan Bardell has praised West Ham United for signing Luis Guilherme early in the window but used a Crystal Palace example as a warning there is no guarantee of success.
The Hammers completed the signing of the 18-year-old Brazilian forward, who was reportedly also of interest to Barcelona and Real Madrid this summer [The Athletic].
While there is excitement around the deal for the South American gem, Bardell issued a cautionary tale from fellow London club Palace who brought in Brazilian Matheus Franca last August for a reported initial £17million up front plus £9m in add-ons [BBC Sport].
Franca managed just one Premier League start and only 224 top-flight minutes in total during a flop of a first season and talkSPORT and Sky Sports journalist Bardell, while acknowledging the fact Luis Guilherme is an exciting talent, did heed a note of caution.
Speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone, Bardell said: “It’s good to get someone like that through the door early because a player from South America is going to need a proper pre-season with club and now he’s going to get that.
“He’s very highly rated, it potentially shows a change in how West Ham are going to operate in the transfer market. It is an interesting signing.
“Hopefully for West Ham’s sake, it goes better than Franca did with Crystal Palace because he barely played last season. If he’s half as good as the last Brazilian they signed in Lucas Paqueta then he’ll be fine.“
Luis Guilherme makes West Ham switch
It was made clear just how desperate Hammers technical director Tim Steidten was to sign Guilherme as the pursuit lasted many weeks and took many twists and turns.
This even saw the Hammers pay all related taxes involved for Palmerias over the deal [UOL Band], which may have sweetened and sped up the deal in the end.
Steidten has certainly been busy in the early throes of the summer, perhaps keen to show how effective he can be after being at odds with former boss David Moyes over transfer dealings in the last summer window.
It has not been all plain sailing with a deal for another Brazilian target Fabricio Bruno falling through, but there is likely to be a lot of movement for the Hammers this off-season.
Guilherme is a player who was wanted by some of Europe’s elite clubs but he has chosen a move to the London Stadium this summer.
This would point towards a guarantee of first-team minutes under Julen Lopetegui which should get West Ham fans excited.
In other West Ham news, the club are eyeing a shock move for a player after a transfer setback at London Stadium.
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