Who will become the first West Ham United signing of the Julen Lopetegui era? Well, it appears that Palmeiras forward Luis Guilherme is now en route, while Flamengo central defender Fabricio Bruno (whom we covered here) is expected to stay at Flamengo. The club announced an extension for Aaron Cresswell, and that prompted Bruno to do an about face, so let’s focus on Guilherme, who agreed personal terms last week.
Now a transfer fee has been agreed upon.
??? EXCL: West Ham verbally agree deal to sign Brazilian talent Luis Guilherme!
Agreement done with Palmeiras pending medicals to take place in England next week.
€23m fixed fee, €7m add-ons, 20% sell-on clause to Palmeiras.
Final steps then… here we go, soon. ??? pic.twitter.com/CTrx6hWKO8
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 7, 2024
Luis Guilherme is considered one of the best young talents in all of Brazil, so €30m, in total, is not a bad price for him. Two of his teammates at Palmeiras are very highly-rated too: Estevão Willian (who is set to join Chelsea) and Endrick, who begins his stint with Real Madrid next month.
Kudos to Lopetegui, West Ham and Guilherme, they are getting their business started early! Say what you will about the front office of the club in east London, and there is plenty of room for criticism, but they are ahead of the curve right now in the transfer window.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.