West Ham Keeping Tabs on Brazilian Star as Manuel Pellegrini Hunts for Striking Reinforcements
West Ham have joined the race to sign striker Gabriel Barbosa, with the Brazilian forward reportedly keen on a move to England.
The 22-year-old is currently on loan at Santos from Serie A heavyweights Inter, where he has failed to impress since joining for a fee in the region of €30m. He has already spent time on loan at Benfica before moving back to his homeland this season - where he has rediscovered his goalscoring touch with 16 strikes already to his name.
Barbosa is believed to favour a permanent move to England however, with Goal reporting that West Ham have expressed an interest in bringing him to the London Stadium. Everton and Crystal Palace are also thought to be interested, with all three sides lacking a natural goalscorer up front.
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His agent Kia Joorabchian, who famously instigated moves to the Hammers for Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, is understood to be keen on pushing through a move for him - believing that he is capable of making the switch successfully.
A potential arrival at Manuel Pellegrini's West Ham would provide fresh impetus to a team who have disappointed so far this season, despite forking out almost £100m during the summer on new recruits. They have lost six of their opening 10 Premier League fixtures, and recently suffered a further blow with £17m signing Andriy Yarmolenko now sidelined for at least six months after rupturing his achilles tendon in the recent 1-0 defeat to Tottenham.
Marko Arnautovic, who has led the line admirably this season, could benefit from further support in attack with Javier Hernandez currently struggling for form. Andy Carroll is still yet to return to fitness, whilst Lucas Perez, who joined from Arsenal in the summer, is yet to get up to speed either.
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And although Barbosa, who is affectionately known as 'Gabigol' may not be the ultimate solution, he could at least provide the Hammers with a different dimension up front with his blistering pace and eye for goal.
