West Ham United under pressure to sign new top target Yuri Alberto amid Luton Town twist

Corinthians forward Yuri Alberto has emerged as the number one target for West Ham, according to The Sun.

The newspaper reported on its live transfer feed on 29 August (03:00am) that the Irons' technical director Tim Steidten has flown to South America to have face-to-face talks with the Brazilian club about the 22-year-old.

It said the Hammers are under pressure to quickly conclude a deal for the Brazilian international as they prepare to face Luton Town on Friday night (1 September), which is also deadline day.

Not messing around

It appears as though West Ham are not messing around in their attempts to sign Alberto after Steidten has flown out to Sao Paulo to hold direct talks.

That shows David Moyes and the technical director are aligned in their pursuit of the Brazilian after the pair previously struggled to agree on which targets to bring to the London Stadium.

Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg tweeted on 29 August that the Hammers are also tracking his compatriots Pedro, who plays for Flamengo, and Santos' Marcos Leonardo.

But it sounds as though Alberto is currently heading the list of potential striker targets after he's scored 21 goals and laid on nine assists during his 73 games for Corinthians.

The forward earned his first international call-up to the Brazilian national team earlier this year and he'll be hoping a move to the Premier League can help his international credentials.

In other West Ham news, a Sky Sports presenter has raved about the Hammers’ business in this transfer window.