West Ham United are all set to rival Aston Villa in the pursuit of the services of Sporting CP attacker Pedro Goncalves.
According to O Jogo via SportWitness, West Ham United have entered the race for the services of Pedro Goncalves. The Hammers seek more firepower in the final third of the pitch and they feel the Aston Villa target could help their cause.
Goncalves became the talk of the town on the back of his exceptional performances last season where he scored 18 goals and bagged 17 assists in his 49 outings. He was one of the stars of Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP.
While multiple top clubs were interested in signing the 26-year-old winger last summer, the Lisbon-based club where not ready to negotiate his departure and they were referring to his €80 million release clause.
One of the major reasons why they didn’t want to discuss his sale was because Amorim wanted him around at all costs. But, with the Portuguese manager joining Manchester United, Goncalves could also head to the Premier League in the near future.
Aston Villa & West Ham to battle for Goncalves
Aston Villa are one of the clubs that have a long-standing interest in the Portuguese international. Villa seek more quality in the final third and the Sporting ace could be just the perfect signing for them.
Unai Emery’s team have been linked with him since the summer and recent reports suggest they are preparing an offer to sign him.
But, it seems West Ham United are all set to rival them in the race for his services. The Hammers want more quality on the left flank and Goncalves recent performances suggest he could do wonders for them.
The Irons scouted the versatile forward during Sporting’s Champions League fixture against Manchester City earlier this week. West Ham have made it a bit of a habit to scout players from the Portuguese club and Goncalves seems to be the latest star who is on their radar.
While they are interested in his services, the Hammers don’t seem to be as serious as Villa who are preparing to table an offer for the 26-year-old.
