West Ham still in talks with Real Betis over £17m+ deal for Luiz Felipe
West Ham are still in talks with Real Betis over a £17.1million deal for centre-back Luiz Felipe, following a meeting with the player’s agent last week, according to ABC Sevilla.
The Spanish news publication shared on 17 July that West Ham had held meetings in London with Felipe’s intermediaries, with clear progress being made in recent days with a view to a future agreement being made as they iron out the details.
The Hammers retain their strong interest in the Brazilian defender, with concrete progress made in outlining a contract both in terms of its length and the money involved.
It is also revealed that much of West Ham’s business and negotiations will now begin following Declan Rice’s £105million move to Arsenal, as many conditions of this transfer were depending on that deal.
West Ham starting to make moves
The East London club are finally beginning to move in the transfer market, with Rice’s exit seemingly opening the floodgates to further transfers with the huge sum of money the club are set to receive.
The interest in Felipe shows West Ham will look to strengthen all areas of their squad, not just try to spend big on a direct replacement for their former captain, in the hope of putting the entire team in a better and stronger position ahead of the new season.
Spending on strengthening the squad overall is a smart move from West Ham, as finding a direct replacement of Rice’s quality will always be difficult. The best course of action is to improve the quality of the team surrounding any incoming midfielder so that the loss is not felt as strongly.
Despite the club’s Europa Conference League win, and subsequent Europa League qualification last season, they were still involved in a relegation battle in the Premier League. Bringing in quality players all over the squad will be a big step towards avoiding that this time out.
In other West Ham news, the club are reportedly losing interest in one transfer target this summer.