West Ham trying to muscle in on Aston Villa pursuit of player – Hammers move into impressive chase

A few days ago we covered a claim from Portugal which stated Aston Villa are ‘preparing an offer’ for Pedro Gonçalves.

The Premier League club had been linked with the Sporting player in August, and at that time it was reported the Lisbon club were referring to the 26-year-old’s €80m release clause.

Such a stance isn’t expected to be the case going forward. Rúben Amorim would have been seen furious to see Gonçalves leave in August, but the manager himself is off to Manchester United.

West Ham United have now been pulled into the picture for the player. Saturday’s edition of O Jogo mentions the Hammers interest on their front page before going further into it inside.

It’s explained West Ham scouted Gonçalves against Manchester City earlier this week. That isn’t a surprise, the Hammers often pop up on Lisbon scouting lists and have done for a number of years.

West Ham interest doesn’t seem as advanced as Aston Villa, given there’s no mention of an offer being prepared.

Pedro Gonçalves scored 18 goals and contributed 17 assists last season playing on left of a front three. Exactly what Aston Villa or West Ham would need to pay hasn’t been made clear yet.