Man United’s £26m transfer proves West Ham have a real shot of signing a ‘true warrior’

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Promises are often broken in the vicinity of transfer windows, and that means West Ham United should not be giving up on their desire to sign one of the rising stars of Serie A so soon.

As Manchester United discovered nearly ten months ago, what a technical director says and what a technical director really means are two very different things.

Lecce had no plans of selling Patrick Dorgu to the Red Devils in January 2024.

But when a ‘historic’ offer worth an initial £26 million arrived from Old Trafford, Pantaleo Corvino admitted that the idea of rejecting was simply ‘unrealistic’.

That does not mean Tiago Gabriel will be a West Ham United player by the time the clock strikes midnight at the start of February. But while West Ham saw an initial £15.8 million bid fall short of Lecce’s demands, clearly, every player has his price.

Including players Lecce are determined to keep at the Stadio Via del Mare.

West Ham should follow Manchester United’s lead if they want Lecce’s Tiago Gabriel

A ‘true warrior’ of a centre-back, Tiago Gabriel appears to tick a lot of West Ham boxes. Exceptional in the air, he ranks in the 98th percentile across European football when it comes to winning ‘aerial duels’.

For a side who have conceded eight goals from crosses and nine from set-pieces in eleven Premier League matches, Gabriel’s 6ft 4ins frame and his willingness to throw his head in where it hurts would represent a very welcome change from the always error-prone Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo.

The aforementioned Corvino told Tuttosport on Thursday that Lecce have no plans of selling Tiago Gabriel. Then again, he said the same this time last year when Man United came calling and Dorgu was a man in high demand.

“We are not people who contradict ourselves,” Corvino said when Lecce finally accepted a bid which made Dorgu their most expensive-ever sale.

“”But as the president [Saverio Sticchi Damiani] said, when you act for the sake of the club – something I agree with – you are seen as something you are not.

“It would have been unrealistic not to make a move that would generate resources to expand the club’s scope, also through infrastructure, and build a better Lecce.”

Pantaleo Corvino’s Patrick Dorgu U-turn gives the Hammers hope

The implication for West Ham, then, is that Tiago Gabriel is probably for sale at the right price. What that price is, though, remains to be seen. Some reports have suggested a minimum of £22 million.

As Juventus hold talks with the Portugal Under-21 international’s camp, with Inter, Roma, AC Milan and Atalanta sniffing around too, confidence might not be particularly high right now at the London Stadium.

Then again, that Dorgu is approaching the one-year anniversary of his Manchester United transfer means that Corvino’s hardline stance is probably slightly more brittle than the director is letting on.

“A club like ours must work on his potential. Many people like him, not just Juventus,” Corvino said on Thursday.

“The boy is strong. We’ve been patient and lucky [with his development]. But be careful, he’s staying here for this year. He’s too important a player to [lose if we want to] achieve our goal.

“We mustn’t lose sight of him.”