da winzada777： West Ham are in talks to sign Barcelona’s Andre Gomes on loan, according to MailOnline.
What’s the story?
da betcris： The Hammers are already looking in to alternative options should they fail to get their move for Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho over the line before Thursday’s 11pm transfer window deadline.
Carvalho’s move to east London has been on a knife edge for some time now and as things stand a deal is unlikely to happen, hence West Ham currently exploring a move for Gomes instead.
The season-long loan move reportedly has a number of caveats West Ham must agree to before the Catalan giants will allow Gomes to make the switch – the main one being a guarantee that the midfield will play at least 70% of the Hammers’ games.
Gomes, 24, has struggled for game time since signing from Valencia last summer but did make a number of impressive appearances from the bench in La Liga last term.
Which would be the better deal?
On paper, Carvalho would represent the better deal for West Ham but Sporting Lisbon’s £40m valuation is currently putting the club off a permanent deal. According to MirrorFootball, West Ham are only willing to pay £30m plus £5m in add-ons.
The defensive midfielder is exactly the style of player West Ham are crying out for following a shockingly poor opening three games of the season, which has seen them ship 10 goals.
Carvalho would add steel, strength and defensive protection to West Ham’s midfield, which is why so many West Ham fans are desperately urging the club to pay whatever Sporting want for the player.
In comparison, Gomes – who is valued at £22.5m by transfermarkt.com – would be a free loan if the Hammers agree to Barcelona’s loan demands, but he isn’t necessarily a direct alternative to Carvalho. The Portuguese is a more attack minded midfielder, which is where West Ham are arguably at their strongest at the moment.
The clue is in the two players’ respective stats from last season, too.
Carvalho, who is a first team regular at Sporting Lisbon, completed almost double the amount of tackles in Primeira Liga as Gomes did in La Liga last term, as well as four times the amount of successful interceptions.
Such stats evidently point towards Carvalho as the more sensible deal for West Ham on deadline day, but in the end it seems money, or more likely the reluctance to spend it, could decide which deal West Ham decide to go for.