West Ham United battle Atletico Madrid to sign Norwich City star Gabriel Sara
West Ham are in the race to sign Norwich midfielder Gabriel Sara as they seek a replacement for Declan Rice, according to the Sunday Mirror.
The newspaper reported via their print edition on Sunday (12 March, page 71) that the Hammers have watched Sara, 23, in recent weeks but they’re not alone in the hunt to sign the Brazilian.
It is understood that Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig are also targeting the former Sao Paulo midfielder, who joined Norwich for a club-record £11.5million in July 2022.
On the hunt
Regardless of whether West Ham stay in the Premier League or not this season, one thing that seems inevitable about the summer is that Rice will be leaving.
We should receive a lot of money for the England international but the worry is that the money has already been spent with David Moyes bringing in over £150million worth of players this season – to little effect.
Sara looks a good player but we doubt that he’ll be able to fill the boots of Rice.
In fact, it’s unlikely that we’ll get anyone in who can.
Sara has enjoyed a good season with the Canaries, scoring five goals and supplying four assists in 29 Championship appearances.
It says a lot that Atletico Madrid are interested in the 23-year-old, who can play in a central or attacking midfield role.
And based on Moyes’ signings at the London Stadium, we’ve had more luck plucking players from the Championship or from lesser leagues in Europe than splashing the cash on Serie A and Ligue 1 players.
We’ll see how things unfold because it’s only mid-March and a lot can happen between now and the summer transfer window opening.
If Norwich win promotion, there’s no chance of being able to sign Sara.