Jota Silva wants West Ham United move amid update on transfer talks for Portugal attacker
Jota Silva is keen on a move to West Ham this summer amid transfer talks on the Portuguese international, according to The Athletic.
Roshane Thomas reported for the outlet’s website on 4 June that the discussions with Vitoria Guimaraes have not yet reached an advanced stage but the 24-year-old is in favour of a switch to the London Stadium.
He made his national team debut this year amid a campaign where he scored 15 goals in all competitions, and is also interesting other Premier League clubs.
The Hammers are in “advanced talks” with Palmeiras over Brazilian teenager Luis Guilherme but, amid fears that move could yet be hijacked [Nizaar Kinsella, 3 June], are also interested in Silva.
West Ham active ahead of Julen Lopetegui start date
According to OJogo (8 May) the Irons were prepared to meet his €20million [£17.2m] release clause in order to see off the threat of rival transfer interest from the likes of Brentford and Benfica.
If that hasn’t happened yet then he is perhaps not at the top of Tim Steidten’s list of priorities, when the technical director has been busy in Brazil and appears to have put in a transfer bid in Spain.
But amid the drama involved in the South American negotiations where one move looks to have broken down amid a failure to agree personal terms, and there were indications that a second was heading the same way, Silva might be straightforward to deal with if he is already keen to join West Ham.
The transfer window doesn’t even open until 14 June [Sky Sports] but Steidten has made a fast start ahead of Julen Lopetegui officially taking over from David Moyes.
That looks to be a positive but until some deals start to be secured it could be a lot of wasted energy.
Silva may fill a very similar role to star man Jarrod Bowen but has the versatility to feature across the forward line, and with relatively little depth in such areas behind the England international it could be a sensible move to bring the Portuguese in.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are up against Premier League competition to snap up a defender for nothing.
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