West Ham United are reportedly the front-runners to sign Neto from Barcelona in the January transfer window.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, West Ham United are leading the race to sign Neto. The Brazilian goalkeeper is eager to call it quits at Barcelona in the January transfer window in order to secure regular game-time.
Neto joined Barcelona from Valencia in the summer of 2019 and has since largely played second fiddle to Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Indeed, the 32-year-old has only featured for the Blaugrana when the first-choice goalkeeper has been unavailable. Otherwise, he has largely been restricted to appearances in cup competitions.
To date, Neto has made just 19 appearances for Barcelona, conceding 18 goals while keeping seven clean sheets in the process. However, things have reached a head for the Brazilian goalkeeper at Camp Nou, who is ready to end his status as an outcast in favour of a team that will hand him regular game-time. And West Ham United appear keen on signing Neto.
The interest from West Ham over a January move is surprising, considering Lukasz Fabianski is going from strength to strength despite his advancing years while Alphonse Areola is a backup option for David Moyes. In addition, the West Ham boss also has Darren Randolph and David Martin at his disposal.
So, it is unclear how Neto would fit in at West Ham in the second half of the season, even as the east Londoners are touted to be leading the race to sign him. The Premier League outfit have been linked with English under-21 international Etienne Green, although a move for the Saint-Etienne goalkeeper might only be executed in the summer.
Indeed, a summer move might benefit all parties, although it might not be prudent for West Ham to sign Barcelona outcast Neto, considering he will only be a short-term solution. Apart from Neto and Green, West Ham have also been linked with Sam Johnstone, which suggests that they are indeed planning to sign a goalkeeper soon.
As for Neto, he would be well served seeking another club instead of West Ham in the January transfer window, when Barcelona are prepared to offload him amid the desire to promote Inaki Pena.
