For every Vinicius Jr – snapped up by Real Madrid for £38 million at the age of just 16 – there are countless Luis Guilherme’s. The £25 million winger who has barely kicked a ball in a West Ham United shirt.
The thing people tend to forget about Vinicius Jr – the second-most expensive Brazilian export after Neymar and the most expensive 16 year old in history – is that his success at the Santiago Bernabeu came very much against the odds.
A teenager with only one professional appearance on his CV. Arriving at the most high-pressure club in world football amid fierce media interest and substantial expectations.
If it was not for his iron-clad self-confidence, Vinicius Jr might have cowered and collapsed like so many fallen ‘wonderkids’ before him.
Only time will tell, meanwhile, if West Ham United winger Luis Guilherme can bounce back from pressurised beginnings of his own.
Hammers boss Graham Potter praised Guilherme’s performances on the training pitch towards the end of last season but, on the Premier League stage, the £25 million signing from Palmeiras remains very much an unknown quantity.
To paraphrase Luizao, another young Brazilian who has fallen by the wayside at the London Stadium, Luis Guilherme was not helped by Julen Lopetegui’s arrival during the summer of 2023. The teenager’s first and so-far only Premier League start would eventually come in April, three months after Potter had replaced Lopetegui in the dugout.
West Ham United’s Luis Guilherme deal criticised amid Club World Cup drama
Now, South American expert Tim Vickery was clearly on the money when he predicted last year, in conversation with the official West Ham website, that the ‘lightning quick’ Luis Guilherme would be eased into English football.
But, speaking as Botafogo, Fluminense, Flamengo and Guilherme’s former employers Palmeiras look to secure their spots in the last-16 of the Club World Cup, Vickery feels that the deal which took Guilherme to the London Stadium after just 24 senior league appearances goes some way to explaining the closing of the gap between South America’s best and their cross-Atlantic cousins.
“Some of the best [South American talent] are already going [this summer]. Estevao going to Chelsea, Igor Jesus to Nottingham Forest, Franco Mastantuono to Real Madrid.
“But one thing which I think has closed the gap between Europe and South America, Brazilian football now treats South American football the way Europe treats Brazilian football. In other words, Brazil buys the best talent Europe doesn’t want from Colombia, Argentina…
“[There have been] changes in the European market. Europeans don’t want the best players anymore. They want the brightest promises.
“So, West Ham spending a fortune on Luis Guilherme, who had scored a grand total of one professional goal. They didn’t get anything out of him in his first season. It might come but it’s only potential.”
West Ham reportedly wanted Jhon Arias from Fluminense in 2024
Vickery contrasts Guilherme’s struggles with the impact of Jhon Arias at Fluminense.
West Ham reportedly targeted Arias as well during the summer of 2024. After opting instead to take a leaf out of Real Madrid’s book with an unproven if uber-talented teenager, 27-year-old Arias has gone on to provide 13 assists in his last 30 Fluminense appearances.
One of those came in the 4-2 victory over Korean outfit Ulsan HD on Saturday. Should Fluminense defeat Mamelodi Sundowns in their final group-stage clash, Arias and co will be guaranteed a last-16 spot.
There was a stunning free-kick rattled into the top corner during that six-goal thriller for good measure, too.
“Look at Fluminense. The little squat Colombian, Jhon Arias,” Vickery smiles. “Magnificent player but he’s 27. So it seems like the European teams aren’t interested in him because they are more investing in the future, and someone aged 27 has passed the age range.
“This change in the market has helped South American teams keep their best players. This is after the Vini Jr deal. Real Madrid paid an absolute fortune when he hadn’t played a senior game.
“Everyone is looking for a Vini Jr.”
Reports had indicated that Luis Guilherme may be allowed to leave on loan this summer. Dutch giants Feyenoord have shifted away from the West Ham youngster in recent times, however, while links with Southampton have also gone quiet.
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