West Ham lost their must-win clash against Fulham and Luis Guilherme was conspicuous by his absence given the lack of options available to Nuno Espirito Santo.
West Ham have made some terrible transfer calls over the years.
Nuno Espirito Santo is paying the price for that now as he works with a woefully assembled Hammers squad to try and turn the sinking ship around.
But the Portuguese also doesn’t help himself at times with some baffling decisions.
The signings of Niclas Fullkrug and Luis Guilherme are right up there with West Ham’s worst recruitment for years.
Tim Steidten opted to spend West Ham’s £45m striker budget on Fullkrug and untested Brazilian teen Guilherme.
Fullkrug and Guilherme the poster boys of botched West Ham rebuild
Fullkrug has been a complete flop, scoring three goals and spending more time in the treatment room than on the pitch during his 18 months in east London.
The slow, immobile German may be a top class finisher but he was totally ill-fitting for the Premier League.
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All does not seem well between the duo…
Fullkrug has been shipped out on loan to Milan in what looks a terrible deal for West Ham all ends up.
And the club has bizarrely allowed him to join the Italians for training a week before the January transfer window opens.
That’s despite West Ham having two vital games before then, one of which they have just lost due, in no small part, to some woeful finishing.
Then there is Guilherme.
Excitement and scepticism was palpable in equal measure when Steidten spent £20m to bring Guilherme to the London Stadium from Palmeiras last summer.
That was a huge fee for a club like West Ham to spend on a lottery ticket.
Clubs like Chelsea and the like can afford to take those chances but not the Hammers.
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 was that the Brazil Under 20 international would have a season to bed in at West Ham before eventually succeeding Mohammed Kudus.
But while Kudus was sold in the summer as expected, Guilherme has failed to impress three consecutive managers.
Real reason Guilherme was left out of West Ham squad revealed
For long spells of his 18 months at the club, Guilherme has struggled just to make West Ham’s bench.
Given the lack of options and pace in the woefully constructed squad, that in itself is damning.
With Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf away at AFCON, pace is even thinner on the ground at West Ham right now.
What do you think about Luis Guilherme LEAVING West Ham? ✈️ 🇧🇷
Are they giving up on him too soon?
Guilherme has played wingback before for both Palmeiras and West Ham.
So one would assume he would be in the squad for a must-win game against Fulham.
Guilherme was nowhere to be seen, though, and Hammers News can reveal the real reason as to why.
The 19-year-old winger has been heavily linked with a move away from West Ham since last January.
The club have been keen to offload him, especially since Steidten admitted Guilherme’s move to West Ham may not work out.
However, Guilherme has been digging his heels in to stay at West Ham, determined to make it work.
Earlier this month Hammers News revealed West Ham have been trying to push Guilherme into a move to Portugal.
A number of clubs have shown genuine interest including the big three – Sporting, Benfica and Porto.
Now Hammers News can confirm the reason Guilherme was left out of the squad for Fulham is because West Ham are close to agreeing a deal to sell him to Sporting for around £17.5m.
It is not clear whether the deal will be an initial loan with an obligation to buy.
Guilherme close to leaving West Ham in £17.5m Sporting move
But the move is said to be close enough that West Ham could not take the risk of the player picking up an injury against the Cottagers.
Sporting have money to burn after the big sale of Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal.
West Ham will feel the benefit with some coming their way to recoup the majority of what they shelled out for Guilherme.
Hammers fans will fear the player will go on to shine in Portugal and his sale could end up being another grave error of judgement from West Ham.
But with money needed for January signings, it is a chance the club clearly feels it has to take.
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