West Ham United yet to make bid to sign Sao Paulo defender Luizao
West Ham United have not yet made an offer to sign Sao Paulo’s 20-year-old defensive starlet Luizao, the club’s president has said.
The Irons were interested in signing the Brazilian along with fellow Premier League outfit Fulham, as reported by Esporte on 26 August, but Julio Casares has vehemently denied that any official bid has come in.
Casares indicated that any talk of a transfer came from the agent of the player rather than either West Ham or the Cottagers themselves.
“No proposal. Sometimes people have to understand that there is a poll,” he said to Ge Globo. “From Fulham, I’m sure they don’t.
“The poll is sometimes speculation that comes from an agent, for example. Now, proposal, from the club, directly, I didn’t receive anything, nobody received anything.”
David Moyes has less than 48 hours to make any final additions to his squad and with no bid made for Luizao, it will not be the Brazilian youngster who heads to the London Stadium.
Soon to be free
The Irons may not have wanted to pay any money to sign Luizao but his contract at his hometown club is expiring at the end of January and he could therefore be available for free very soon.
Perhaps Moyes and his recruitment team have gambled that he won’t move elsewhere or sign a new deal at the Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo before they can swoop to sign him for just a compensation fee.
Being under 23 years of age, he won’t be completely free to sign but whatever the club are asked to pay will be considerably less than anything they would spend right now to sign him immediately.
Moyes has already added two new centre-halves to his squad this summer and there can’t be another reason to bring in a third unless they have all suddenly got injured at once.
Craig Dawson is nearing fitness and he will then be added alongside Thilo Kehrer and Kurt Zouma to ensure there is enough cover along with Angelo Ogbonna and eventually Nayef Aguerd.