Two and a half years into a West Ham United career which is yet to yield even a single Premier League outing, Brazilian centre-back Luizao is a man tired of waiting for chances which never arrive.
A £4 million signing from Sao Paulo back in January 2023, the defender has gone through three managers and various false starts. His only senior appearances across those 29 months, meanwhile, came during a brief loan spell in the Polish Ekstraklasa.
In the spring, Pogon Szczecin handed Luizao his first appearance since he was plying his trade back home with Sao Paulo. And, while the Brazilian earned rave reviews from the Polish press, an eventual return to the London Stadium sees Luizao return all the way back to square one.
Given that he recently turned 23 and still has only 16 senior league appearances on his CV during spells in three different countries, it should come as no surprise that Luizao wants a clean break and a fresh start from West Ham United.
Pogon Szczecin confirm Luizao has returned to West Ham United
Luizao has only one year left on his West Ham deal.
Regardless, a long-term stay at Pogon Szczecin was never likely to happen. The Hammers would rather avoid another loan spell due to his contract situation, while the Ekstraklasa outfit have never in their history spent over a million pounds on a single player.
After an impressive fourth-place finish in Poland’s top flight, Pogon confirmed via an official statement posted on their X account that Luizao is one of a number of players who have said their goodbyes.
“Pogon Szczecin’s cooperation with Rafal Kurzawa, Mariusz Malec, Olaf Korczakowski, Marcel Wedrychowski, Luizao and Benjamin Rojas will not continue,” the statement reads.
“The players will fulfil their contracts and say goodbye to our club. Gentlemen, thank you for your commitment to playing for the ‘Pride of Pomerania’!
“We wish you good luck in your future careers!”
How much the Londoners will demand from any potential suitors remains to be seen. West Ham rejected a £2.5 million bid last summer before Brazilian giants Corinthians splurged their budget on Memphis Depay.
Luizao wants West Ham exit after loan spell in Poland
Luizao could yet feature for West Ham in pre-season but the chances of him making a long-awaited Premier League debut under Graham Potter next term appear decidedly unlikely.
“My company are willing to negotiate a loan or a permanent [deal], but it doesn’t depend only on me. Now, it depends on West Ham,” Luizao said last week. “West Ham are looking forward. If it is a loan, let it be with a [permanent option].
“They don’t rule out my going back there and even doing pre-season. But also if a deal comes up that is really good for them, they can include a purchase clause. Right now, everything is still very open.”
Luizao highlights the arrival of Julen Lopetegui a year ago as a potential turning point for all the wrong reasons. Under Lopetegui, West Ham’s Young Player of the Year George Earthy was loaned to Bristol City while Luis Guilherme barely kicked a ball in anger despite a £25 million price-tag.
“When I arrived [back in January 2023] my first six months were to be about adaptation, [playing] for the Under-21 team and then doing some training with the first-team,” the defender explains. “At the end of those six months, I would be integrated into the first team.
“But then the months passed and I ended up with a coach who had some difficulties with young players and so on. Then, things ended up not happening.
“I tried to leave on loan to get minutes. Then, there were some internal difficulties within the club and I couldn’t leave. I spent two years kind of going back and forth between whether I would leave or not, until I managed to go to Poland.”
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