Fabricio Bruno decision made with West Ham United snub reasons shared
Brazil defender Fabricio Bruno highlighted the cost of living in England as personal terms over his transfer to West Ham United broke down, according to ESPN Brazil.
West Ham’s wage offer to the Flamengo centre-back was reportedly a “small salary difference” to his current earnings in Brazil, and thus Bruno was unable to agree personal terms with the club.
The two parties had agreed a fee of £12.5million plus add-ons for the 28-year-old, but the defender was reported to have asked for a ‘crazy’ £100,000 per week in wages, well above what the Irons were prepared to offer.
ESPN shared that Bruno, who had previously been preparing to say his goodbyes to the Flamengo faithful, was named in their starting lineup to face Vasco Da Gama in the Campeonato Serie A, suggesting there’s next to no chance of the Hammers reviving this deal.
Fabricio Bruno snub is early transfer setback for West Ham
West Ham’s summer business looked likely to begin on the front foot with the signing of Bruno, as the club’s technical director Tim Stiedten travelled to Brazil himself looking to seal the deal.
However, the breakdown in wage demands between the club and the defender means the Irons will have to turn their attention towards other targets, with Steidten’s focus also shifting to several Brazilians the club has expressed an interest in, according to Vene Casagrande.
Signing a player who has just broken into the Brazil national team for just £12.5million would have represented a solid start to the Hammers’ summer window, but with Bruno’s transfer dead in the water, alternative options will not come anywhere near as cheap.
Julen Lopetegui is targeting central defence as one of six areas in which his side needs improvement, and the failure to land Bruno means the Spaniard could be forced to look closer to home, with his former Wolves captain Max Kilman linked.
Making an early start to the transfer window is yet to pay dividends for West Ham, but they’ve left themselves more than enough time to recover from not signing their number-one target.
In other West Ham news, an update has emerged on the club’s pursuit to sign a striker who scored 33 goals in 2023/24.
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