Following the claims that West Ham United have made a bid of €30m for Flamengo midfielder Gustavo Cuellar, we admit we expected bigger coverage from the Brazilian press about the rumour.
But it turns out that since both club and player denied the offer, things went a bit quiet, with the Colombian and English press having the biggest reaction about the story.
Several journalists from the player’s home country press have been tweeting about the case. Most of them, like Diego Saviola and Juan David Arcos, are reporting that Deportivo Cali still own 30% of the player, so they should be excited about a transfer.
Some others go a little further. Gente, Pasión y Fútbol claims that Cuellar is signing a four-year deal and is joining the Hammers in January 2020.
Meanwhile, Saque Largo also reports West Ham’s interest in the player, this time claiming that the fee paid to Flamengo could be €23.5m.
“Gustavo Cuéllar interesa a West Ham” @carlosalemanj#El1DeLaLiga pic.twitter.com/TgerHVp3R1
— Saque Largo (@SaqueLargoWin) May 14, 2019
Something we missed yesterday was that besides making the first claims on Radio Globo, Brazilian journalist Gustavo Henrique had some more information on the negotiations on his Twitter account.
He claims that Cuellar should sign for West Ham in June, after the Copa America. It’s said that it’s all agreed, but nothing signed. The player, however, would only join the Hammers in January 2020.
Gustavo Henrique says that Cuellar will make €2m in signing prizes, and West Ham will pay Flamengo €28m, divided in three instalments.
Since Cuellar said he knows nothing about the offer, the journalist was attacked by Flamengo fans everywhere in social media. He later recorded a video with updates about the club, and said it’s completely normal for the player to dismiss the rumours, since he wouldn’t simply confirm the story at this stage. Gustavo claims to stand with his claims, and ‘time will tell’.
