West Ham have been hit by an overnight hijack attempt in their bid to sign Luis Guilherme, according to West Ham Football.
The Twitter account, run by Six Foot Two editor Sean Whetstone, reported early on 5 June that an unnamed side had made a late bid for the 18-year-old Palmeiras forward but the Irons were still working to get the deal over the line.
Guilherme’s Hammers move had appeared to be on the brink of collapse once already on Monday [HITC, 3 June], but was resurrected with Tim Steidten in Brazil to work on it in person [GOAL, 4 June].
However, BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella (3 June) had reported the club still had fears of a late hijack attempt and those fears have now been realised.
Whetstone wrote: “The West Ham deal to sign 18-year-old Brazilian midfielder Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras has hit yet another snag over night with yet another club trying to make a late bid.
“The new club whose identity is unknown is trying to hijack the Hammers deal. West Ham are still trying to get a deal over the line but facing still competition for the teenager’s signature.
“It’s never done until the player signs his contract.”
Tim Steidten battling to win transfer race for West Ham
It is hardly a positive development for an 11th-hour hijack attempt to arrive but the Irons shouldn’t have been caught unawares by it if they were concerned about this happening.
In theory, if the deal has been brought back from the brink once then it could be revived again, and until the new rival’s identity emerges it is impossible to assess the threat.
Guilherme must have a decent level of interest in joining West Ham for Steidten to have got as close as he already has done to sealing the deal, so the hope at the London Stadium will clearly be that the German can capitalise on that despite the level of competition.
If he can manage to drag this move over the line then it looks like it would be some achievement but that is still anything but certain.
And if this move does go the same way as Patricio Bruno from Flamengo in breaking down despite looking set to complete it will undoubtedly be a blow to the club and the fanbase.
There appears to be no shortage of West Ham activity in the market at this early stage of the summer as the Julen Lopetegui era begins, but at this stage the club are struggling to get the transfer window off the ground.
