‘Let him go’: Team-mate urges £15m star to seal ‘dream’ West Ham transfer

We are not even into June, and West Ham United already have a new manager in place while wasting little time in pursuit of their leading transfer targets.

The contrast between the summer of 2024 and that of 2023 could hardly be greater. It took until mid-August for The Hammers to announce their first permanent signing of last year, the arrivals of Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Mohamed Kudus held up as the Declan Rice saga dragged on and on.

Flash forward to the present day, and West Ham United are exploding out of the blocks this time around.

HITC understands that the reigning (and by tonight former Conference League champions) have already submitted an offer for the exciting Brazilian winger Wesley Gassova, albeit below Corinthians’ £25 million asking price.

According to The Guardian, compatriot Fabrizio Bruno should be boarding a flight across the Atlantic himself soon enough. West Ham have reportedly agreed a £12.5 million – rising to £15 million – deal for the Flamengo central defender.

West Ham United near Fabricio Bruno deal

Bruno is expected to become the first signing of the Jopetegui era at the London stadium.

And while defensive partner Leo Ortiz will miss his presence at the heart of the Flamengo backline, he does not blame Bruno for chasing his dream.

“With Fabricio, about the negotiation, I said very little. It’s his thing. So, I try not to talk so much so as not to get in the way of that,” Ortiz tells Globo Esporte.

“I experienced a negotiation not long ago and it was a negotiation that lasted. So I know how a lot of people talk. But I’m rooting for him, so that (the move) is good for him. It’s a dream for him too.

“He’s already made that clear, he’s already expressed that. We know that dreams sometimes don’t knock on the door twice.”

The late-blooming Bruno, earning his first two Brazil caps this year at the age of 28, brings aggression, physicality and a towering 6ft 4ins frame to the English capital. West Ham fans will be hoping he can make an impact under Lopetegui similar to how his fellow Selecao star Diego Carlos blossomed into one of Europe’s top centre-halves at Sevilla.

“I root for his happiness,” Ortiz adds of Bruno, who joined Flamengo from Red Bull Bragantino in 2022. “If it’s best for him, let him go. We will always be cheering if this happens.

“And regarding the fight for the place, even with Fabricio (gone), it would be a very good fight with four or five players.”

Hammers targeting the Brazilian market

Bruno will strengthen a backline hit hard by the loss of form of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd in 2023/24. Kostas Mavropanos, a player Lopetegui wanted at Wolves, has also struggled to live up to his £17 million price-tag.

At the other end of the pitch, the aforementioned Wesley could fulfil the role Said Benrahma played on the left-hand side before his January departure to Lyon.

“He is one of these inverted wingers that Brazilian football is producing a lot of,” South American expert Tim Vickery tells talkSPORT (22 May, 3pm). “The slight difference with him is a lot of those tend to be physically frail, whereas he is built! He’s like a horse.

“My doubt – and it is only a little doubt because he is very, very promising – once you get into English football, you take away his acceleration space. At the moment, he has got time to run, and he can be a fearsome prospect for defenders.

“Take that space away and he’s going to have to come up with more ‘reduced-space’ skills. But he is a very, very interesting prospect and he’s a nightmare for full-backs.

“If he’s running at you, you’re going to be scared.”