West Ham United handed £100,000-a-week contract demand ahead of summer transfer window
West Ham United’s pursuit of Fabricio Bruno has hit another snag as the Brazil defender has asked for a £100,000-a-week contract, according to HITC.
Dan Owen’s report [31 May] claims that Flamengo’s Bruno has demanded the six-figure-per-week sum to a startled Tim Steidten and his intermediaries as the Hammers look to secure their first signing of the Julen Lopetegui era.
Family concerns regarding the 28-year-old’s pregnant wife and young child [Meia Hora, 30 May] were cited as reservations Bruno had to move to England, as well as the difference in cost of living between London and Rio de Janeiro.
The HITC article read: “Fabricio Bruno, meanwhile, appears increasingly unlikely to be wearing the claret and blue next season after talks ran aground over personal terms. HITC have been told that the 28-year-old Copa Libertadores winner wanted an eye-watering £100,000-a-week at West Ham.
“Such a wage, per Spotrac, would have made Bruno one of the clubs’ highest earners, ahead of Mohamed Kudus, Thomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen.”
Fabricio Bruno switch to West Ham United looks to be off
Whilst it’s not entirely over yet, the stumbling blocks which look to be denying West Ham their man appeared unlikely earlier this week, amid teammate claims that it was a “dream” for Bruno to play in the Premier League.
Steidten has been in Brazil in recent days trying to tie down the deal for Bruno and get bids tabled for Corinthians’ Wesley Gassova and Palmeiras’ Luis Guilherme, as the Hammers explore the Brazilian market in an attempt to get early transfer business locked in.
With regards to Bruno, it’s his last potential ‘big’ contract, so to speak – and if it’s in the Premier League, the newly capped Brazil international will be hunting a lucrative pay-check.
But the concerns surrounding cost of living in tandem with demands for an eye-watering sum on a par with the likes of Bowen, if as accurate as reported, wouldn’t be afforded much time by West Ham fans.
Whilst it’s early days in the window – albeit with Euro 2024 and the Copa America wedged in – Steidten will be hoping to save face somewhat and return with at least some bread from Brazil for Lopetegui to work with.
In other West Ham news, there could be a new opportunity for Danny Ings at the club.
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