Brazilian Luizao has told David Moyes he wants in and what he can bring to the West Ham first team after being placed in the academy setup.
As many West Ham fans will be aware, head of recruitment Rob Newman spent some time in Brazil networking with clubs with a view to cherry picking young talent.
That bore fruit in the form of West Ham’s first – and thus far only – signing of the January window, Luizao.
There was excitement around the capture with the 20-year-old said to be highly rated in Brazil.
With Craig Dawson set to leave, ageing Angelo Ogbonna likely in his final season, Thilo Kehrer error-prone and both Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma injury prone, West Ham are in need of a new centre-back.
A slight dampener was put on Luizao’s arrival when West Ham confirmed the 6ft 2in young star was being signed initially for the club’s development team.
The hope – as with any player in the academy – is clearly that Luizao will progress and become part of the first team squad.
But with West Ham’s brittle backline conceding sloppy goals week in, week out the big question is can Luizao really do any worse?
Well the player himself seems perfectly confident he can be an asset to the ailing Hammers.
Because Brazilian Luizao has told Moyes he wants in and what he can bring to the West Ham first team.
In a lengthy interview with West Ham’s official website, the left-footed former Sao Paulo star – who lists Miranda, the Brazilian legend not the female comedian, Sergio Ramos and Paolo Maldini as his three idols – insists he is desperate to earn a first team place as soon as possible while detailing his many attributes.
“I’m a centre-back, I think I’m quick and tall, physically imposing and I’m good at playing out from the back,” Luizao told whufc.com.
“I’d say I’m technical too… Being aggressive is important for a centre-back…
“This is the biggest opportunity I’ve had in my life so far. West Ham are one of the biggest teams in England and are known as a traditional club. This is my opportunity to earn the chance to play in the Premier League, and hit new heights in my life…
“Right now, my main ambition is to get into the first team and play games. But I have high aspirations. I want to achieve big things at the Club. I want to win trophies and I want to play in Europe – that’s my biggest dream! I hope I can do it with West Ham.”
We hope so too my friend. If West Ham were coasting along in midtable then easing Luizao in gently would be the sensible and wise approach.
But given the dire straits the Hammers are in, would throwing Luizao in at the deep end really be the worst idea?
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