West Ham made an offer to take Gabriel Barbosa on loan for 18 months - with an option to make the deal permanent for £25m - earlier this window; the proposal remains on the table and the forward wants to move to England; however, Flamengo do not want to lose Barbosa
Thursday 13 January 2022 13:25, UK
Gabriel Barbosa is set to tell Flamengo that he wants to leave the club and move to England, with West Ham keen to sign the forward.
The Hammers made an offer to take Barbosa on loan for 18 months - with the option of making the move permanent for €30m (£25m) - earlier this month, and that proposal remains on the table.
However, Flamengo do not want to sell or loan out Barbosa this month. The 25-year-old has scored 104 goals in 147 games for the Brazilian side.
But Barbosa is keen to leave the club and is set to meet with his representatives and Flamengo officials on Thursday, when he will make his desire to move to England clear.
Barbosa is understood to believe that a move to the Premier League could help him cement the role as Brazil's leading striker ahead of the World Cup this winter.
The forward also believes he has unfinished business in Europe following an underwhelming spell at Inter Milan.
Barbosa spent three and a half years as an Inter player - plus six months on loan at Benfica - between 2016 and 2020, but scored just two goals in only 15 games.
The Brazilian is one of a number of strikers West Ham are interested in this month.
South American football expert Tim Vickery:
"I think it's unlikely he will join West Ham this month. First of all, what does the player want. I know it's been reported that he's about to tell his club Flamengo, where he's been very successful for the last three years, that he wants out. If that's true then it would be a bombshell as the exact opposite is being reported here in Brazil.
"He's been sitting down with the new coach, the former QPR, Swansea and Leicester boss Paulo Sousa, and talking about how much he wants to feature this year. Would he want to rock the boat in a World Cup year? He's in the Brazil squad so would he want to risk losing momentum with a move at this point.
"Flamengo neither want to sell nor need to sell and I don't think they'd be interested in a loan move with an option to buy. You've got to stump up your £30m. Do West Ham really want to pay £30m on a 25-year-old where no one really knows if he can do it at this level? And although he's made some progress with his emotional intelligence, he really doesn't seem like a David Moyes type of character. At the moment, I'd say it's unlikely but stranger things have happened."
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