West Ham United have been very active in the transfer market and according to reports, they are ready to firm up their interest in Leganes midfielder Gabriel Pires. Slaven Bilic is adamant to keep his side in the Champions League race in the next season and for this, adequate funds need to be injected into the squad. The Hammers had a pretty disappointing season as they finished just outside of the top ten spot and will look to improve in the upcoming campaign.
Pires has a £6m release clause in his contract and Bilic will have no problem triggering it. The Brazilian playmaker initiated his career in Italy with Juventus but failed to clinch a place in the starting lineup of the Turin side.
He had been to a couple of clubs on loan stints before landing at Leganes last season. He had a very fruitful loan spell with the Spanish club as he inspired them to a promotion into the La Liga for the first time. The club signed him permanently and he went on to repay the faith with another top notch and consistent season.
Newcastle United are also on the line to make the Brazilian one of their signings this summer. Rafa Benitez will be handed a transfer budget of £100m and he wants to spend the money wisely. Rafa has a very good eye for talents and has made the attacking midfielder a priority signing.
The departure of Dimitri Payet had a very bad effect on the Hammers. The Frenchman forcibly enforced a move to his former club Marseille in the winter transfer window. The London club has failed to recover since his transfer and although Manuel Lanzini has tried his best to fill the void, the quality of Payet has been the major difference between West Ham and the other clubs for the last couple of months.
Pires could be a replacement of the French midfielder. Like Payet, he also has attacking skills and loves to play a possession based football. He has one of the highest passing rates in the season which speaks volumes about his talent.
Pires could be unleashed in the no. 10 role as West Ham lacks an influential player in this position. He also has excellent defensive attributes which have made him an all round playmaker. Leganes will find it hard to keep the player and they will rather prefer to cash in on him. He could be an effective signing in terms of his price and age.
