West Ham United now close in on Carlos Borges transfer as Fabrizio Romano shares AM update
West Ham United are working to close the deal to sign Manchester City winger Carlos Borges and David Moyes could now seal an exciting secret weapon at the London Stadium.
According to a latest update from Fabrizio Romano on Monday morning (24 July), the Hammers are working to secure the Portugueses’ signature as their first summer acquisition.
The deal is now believed to be at the final stages and could be sealed this week for a fee of around £14m.
Borges was first linked with a move to East London last week and the deal has progressed quickly with West Ham United pushing hard to get this exciting new transfer done.
Romano tweeted: “West Ham are working to get Carlos Borges deal done and sealed this week for a fee around £14m, as revealed last week. Deal at final stages.
“Man City would keep a buy-back clause into the contract.”
While all the focus will have been on replacing the outgoing Declan Rice, with the East Londoners reportedly linked with several key names, Moyes and new technical director Tim Steidten must be handed serious credit for working under the radar to close in on Borges’ signature and what an “exceptional” piece of business this could be for the Hammers.
Highly regarded at Manchester City, Borges is yet to play a senior game and may be something of an unknown quantity to some West Ham United fans, but the fact that the Irons are shelling out a fee of £14m to get him out of Manchester shows what trust is being put in his ability.
The talented teenager has been going from strength to strength in the treble-winning club’s youth set-up and this season earned the title of Premier League Two Player of the Season due to his incredible output for the U21s.
Over 38 appearances in all competitions, the fleet-footed 19-year-old scored a whopping 29 goals and registered 18 assists, with a goal contribution every 55 minutes which is an incredible achievement for the youngster who was the outright top-scorer in the entire Premier League Two last season with 21 goals.
Such incredible feats at the youth setup may not be enough to see him take the attacking mantle at Manchester City, with Riyad Mahrez departing the Etihad, but it’s certainly enough for another Premier League club to take a risky bet on him.
And West Ham United fans are certainly in for a whirlwind sight given Borges’ extraordinary abilities, possessing incredible speed, technical skill, dribbling qualities and a clinical goalscoring edge that belies his tender years.
Not only that, the Man City left-winger has given glimpses of other key strengths that could make him an incredible asset and exciting secret weapon to Moyes next season – averaging 2.3 shots on target, 1.7 key passes, 2.7 tackles, one successful dribble and 3.7 duels won per game over his three Football League Trophy appearances last term.
The Portugal U19 star – dubbed “phenomenal” by talent scout Jacek Kulig – now looks to be ready to take the next step into first-team football and his ability to play across the front line means the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals certainly won’t know what’s hit them as Borges possesses the skills and confidence to be an immediate starter in the team.
A brilliant piece of business for Moyes and a great potential next step for a player who was well within his right to become a star at the Etihad. That’s West Ham United’s incredible gain now.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are closing in on the signing of a former Premier League striker.