(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Thu 19 March 2026 14:40, UK

West Ham‘s winter signing Keiber Lamadrid has been called up to Venezuela’s first team, as announced on Thursday.

The Hammers’ official X account posted confirmation of the winger’s achievement, as he’ll be available to play in upcoming games for his country.

Venezuela are set to take on Trinidad and Tobago as well as Uzbekistan, but there should be a good chance he returns to Rush Green in time for the FA Cup clash against Leeds United.

Lamadrid has only made one appearance since joining the Irons from Deportivo La Guaira in January, and it’ll be a good chance for fans to tune in and see what qualities he can bring to Nuno Espirito Santo.

West Ham are still battling relegation, and Lamadrid could have an important role to play for the run-in, if he impresses while away on international duty.

Will West Ham trigger buy option for Keiber Lamadrid?

Lamadrid impressed on his West Ham debut, but has since been placed on the bench by Nuno.

The Hammers have only signed the winger on loan, but they do have an option to buy him for £1million that was included in his contract.

However, as of right now, it remains to be seen whether or not the Irons will take up that opportunity.

As highlighted by Sofascore in the graphic above, there are clear gaps that the 22-year-old has in his game, but nothing that can’t be improved over time.

West Ham may have pushed for the optional buy clause to see how Lamadrid fares at Rush Green first, in what could potentially be very smart thinking from a business standpoint.

Why Lamadrid may have been a signing for the Championship

David Sullivan didn’t hold back in splashing the cash this past winter market, as the criticised Hammers owner dug deep into his pockets to give Nuno what he wanted.

It would be a fair assumption to make that Lamadrid wasn’t what Nuno wanted, and that he was actually a club signing.

Since the winter market has passed, the Irons look like they could really survive the threat of relegation after all, but that may put Lamadrid’s future in E20 in doubt.

A 22-year-old valued at £1m is unlikely to do a lot of damage in the Premier League, and so it seems like his signing was made as a cheap option that could have been made permanent if West Ham were to get relegated.

Time will tell, but it always seemed like an odd signing.