Gabigol wowed by David Moyes with West Ham in talks to sign Brazil striker – Sky Sports
Flamengo striker Gabriel Barbosa is impressed by the job David Moyes has done at West Ham with talks underway for the Brazilian to head to East London, according to Sky Sports.
In their online Transfer Centre [3 January, 06:04pm], Sky Sports report that the Hammers have held talks over a potential deal to sign the 25-year-old, who’s also known as Gabigol.
It is understood that West Ham are exploring other options as they aim to sign a new centre-forward but Gabigol is someone who they’ve been in discussions to sign while three more Premier League teams are keen on him.
Goal machine
While Gabigol had a disappointing time in Europe earlier in his career, he’s come alive since returning to Brazil with Flamengo in 2019.
Inter Milan signed the Brazilian forward from Santos in 2016 but in four years on the books at the San Siro, he scored just once in 10 games and was loaned out three times.
He initially joined Flamengo on loan in 2019 before a permanent deal was struck a year later. Since moving to the Maracana, he’s netted 84 goals in 124 appearances across all competitions.
One of those goals came in the Copa Libertadores final in November when Flamengo lost 2-1 to Palmeiras in South America’s top club competition.
According to a feature by Goal ahead of that game, Gabigol has been more prolific in front of goal than Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronald since joining Flamengo.
He’s reportedly earning £58,000-a-week on his deal in Rio de Janeiro so he seems like an affordable striker for West Ham, who’ll be keen to sign someone who can provide back-up for Michail Antonio this month.
It remains to be seen if Barbosa will be happy to be a second-choice striker but he can also play out wide and Moyes may be willing to play with two up top at times as he’s proven very flexible in his second spell at the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, this one Irons star is set for a bumper new deal at the London Stadium as interest sparks GSB into action.
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