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West Ham United gatecrash Porto talks to sign £10.2m defender Leo Ortiz
West Ham have gatecrashed Porto’s talks to sign Red Bull Bragantino centre-back Leo Ortiz, according to Correio de Manha.
The Portuguese newspaper reported via their print edition on 12 June (page 15) that Bragantino want £10.2million for 26-year-old Brazilian centre-back.
It is understood that Fiorentina have also joined the race for Ortiz and that could lead to Porto backing out of a deal as they refuse to be drawn into a bidding war when they want to pay lower than what Bragantino want.
Correio de Manha adds that Ortiz has “never hidden his desire to play in the Premier League”.
Another centre-back deal?
It’s been widely reported that West Ham are trying to sign Rennes centre-back Nayef Aguerd this summer.
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The Mail on Sunday reported via their print edition on 12 June (page 144) that the Irons are finalising a deal to sign the 26-year-old Morocco international, who’ll compete with Angelo Ogbonna for a spot on the left-hand side of the defence.
Ortiz is a right-sided centre-back who’s made 25 appearances in all competitions for Red Bull Bragantino in the 2022 Brazilian season.
He’s been called up to the Brazil national team squad on a few occasions, including the 2021 Copa America, but is yet to make his debut for the South American giants.
If West Ham sign him, then you can imagine that Ortiz will be competing with the likes of Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma for a spot in the defence.
And when you think about that, it suggests that a deal is pointless.
Dawson was one of our best players in the 2021/22 season and we all know that Zouma can be incredible on his day.
With those two, Ogbonna and Aguerd, we’d say that West Ham’s centre-back options are sorted, especially with Issa Diop is still on the books too.
We’d rather see the money spent on a new striker than yet another centre-back.
In other West Ham news, a medical has been scheduled for this player to join the Hammers in just over a week.
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