West Ham appear to be pushing Luis Guilherme towards a January exit after two big revelations this week and fans will be fearing the worst.
Excitement was palpable when West Ham’s much-maligned former technical director Tim Steidten spent £20m to bring Luis Guilherme to east London from Palmeiras last summer.
There was a fair amount of scepticism too given Guilherme was leaving a vastly inferior league, where he had only made 19 appearances – many of them as a substitute – to come to the best in the world aged just 18.
The thinking behind the deal was that Guilherme would have a season to bed in at West Ham before eventually succeeding Mohammed Kudus.
Kudus was sold to Spurs in the summer but Guilherme has failed to impress three consecutive managers enough to get regular game time.
Two big revelations emerge on Guilherme’s West Ham future
For long spells of his 18 months at the club, Guilherme has even struggled to make the matchday squad.
Given the lack of options in the Hammers squad, that in itself is damning.
What do you think about Luis Guilherme LEAVING West Ham? ✈️ 🇧🇷
Are they giving up on him too soon?
There has been speculation for some time that West Ham are open to offers to ‘cut their losses’ on Guilherme.
Steidten’s decision to spend West Ham’s 2024 summer window striker budget on the winger and £27m flop Niclas Fullkrug ultimately cost the German his job.
As a player, though, Guilherme continues to divide opinion among supporters.
Many have been encouraged by some of Guilherme’s cameos and felt Nuno Espirito Santo’s counter-attacking style would be perfect to get the best out of him.
The Brazilian has barely featured under Nuno, though.
Now West Ham are pushing Luis Guilherme into a Portugal move and fans will fear the worst.
The Hammers have told Guilherme he can leave in the January transfer window and are very much looking to ship him out.
Porto have shown interest in the Hammers outcast.
The club have a big problem, though, because Guilherme is digging his heels in to stay at West Ham.
Guilherme digs heels in as West Ham push to ship him out
Guilherme has insisted he wants to stay in east London, fight for his place and prove himself.
When Nuno was first appointed, Hammers News exclusively revealed West Ham want to sign Adama Traore for their new boss.
So it is perhaps not a major surprise the club is looking to offload Guilherme.
Whether it is the right call, though, is open to debate.
Adama Traore for £20m would be the worst signing in West Ham history…😡
Disagree with us? Let us know who YOU think was worse…
Some feel Steidten dropped a clanger at £20m and the Hammers must try to recoup what they can on Guilherme.
Others want to see Guilherme given a proper chance given he is still so young.
In an interview since leaving the club last January, Steidten said he believes in the winger but conceded Guilherme’s move to West Ham may not work out.
West Ham have been here before, though, and should proceed with caution.
In terms of recruitment policy, should the Irons really be giving up on pacy young players full of potential to bring in ageing stars?
Especially at a time when the club finally looks to have started to build around some top class young players such as Mateus Fernandes, Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa and El Hadji Maclick Diouf.
Fans will feel like they know what happens next if they get rid of Guilherme.
Fans will fear the worst if Guilherme leaves West Ham
It will be typical of West Ham’s poor judgement in recent years that Guilherme is shipped out and goes on to shine for Porto or whoever else he might sign for.
He has pace, skill and a clear talent on the ball so if the right manager gets hold of Guilherme with the right conditions and system and he could become real hot property.
Obviously if he does so while on loan then it might work out ok for the Hammers.
But anything permanent, or with the possibility of permanency, is a huge gamble.
It should be noted that if the 19-year-old had put in some of his cameos as a West Ham Academy graduate coming into the first team then the entire Premier League would be raving about him, let alone Hammers fans.
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