Back in December, when West Ham seemed keen on a striker, they were linked to Lucas Pratto from Atlético-MG. The Argentine attacker was impressing at the Brazilian club and had many sides interested on him.
At the time, his representative Gustavo Goni confirmed that at least one English club was on the list of interested clubs, so it all made some sense.
But instead of going to Europe, Pratto ended up staying in Brazil, and was signed by São Paulo for €5.8m. With five goals in seven games for the club, the striker keeps impressing, and was invited to ESPN Brasil’s show ‘Resenha’ this Sunday.
In a relaxed conversation, the West Ham target was asked by his compatriot Juan Pablo Sorin if he still has the desire to return to Europe, as he played for Genoa for a short period.
“Last year, and now in January, there were offers that didn’t reach Atlético-MG’s demands. But I’ll always want to return to Europe.
“I’ve went too young, and I think maybe I took a wrong decision in coming back so early. Maybe I could have stayed for six more months and be loaned to another club in Europe.
“But now I’m very happy with my career. It ended up being a good decision. I’ll always want to return to Europe to play with the great players there, but I’m very happy here.”
São Paulo clearly wouldn’t let him go cheap so soon, but considering that Pratto is already 28, he doesn’t have much time to convince a European club to sign him. If West Ham interest was genuine, there’s every chance Slaven Bilic is keeping an eye on the player’s situation.
However, the last striker to move from São Paulo to West Ham was Jonathan Calleri, and that switch has worked out poorly, so far, for both player and club.
