The Brazilian 21-year-old defensive midfielder Thiago Maia is set to sign for West Ham United for a fee believed to be around €22.5 million. If he does, the transfer will take Manuel Pellegrini’s spending spree to over €100 million for the summer.
Thiago Maia to West Ham United
Thiago Maia was a sought-after player when he opted to join Lille last season in order to work with Marcelo Bielsa, refusing offers from reputable clubs such as Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He made 34 appearances for the French side but was used in an atypical offensive midfield role, a position he had very little experience with before coming over from Brazil’s Santos.
Rafa Benitez was eager to bring Thiago Maia to St. James’ Park with reports suggesting a loan-deal between the two sides was agreed. However, West Ham has stepped up their pursuit in the dying minutes, offering him a permanent deal instead. Maia’s release clause is in the €50 million area, but financial turmoil is forcing Lille to sell fast.
Manuel Pellegrini is desperate to add a quality defensive midfielder to his starting lineup, which is why Thiago Maia would be such an important signing. Cheikhou Kouyate wasn’t seen as a viable solution at the position by the Chilean manager and was recently shipped off to Crystal Palace for €10.7 million. There was bad blood between Kouyate and the club anyway after the FA launched an investigation into controversial comments made by the director of recruitment Tony Henry regarding African players, prompting Kouyate to post a picture on social media with the caption “African and proud”.
Thiago Maia to become West Ham’s eighth summer signing
Thiago Maia would be West Ham United’s eighth signing of the summer, with Andriy Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson, Jack Wilshere, Issa Diop, Lukasz Fabianski, Ryan Fredericks and Fabian Balbuena all new names on the roster. Hiring Pellegrini and spending so much cash is a sign the management doesn’t want a repeat of last season when the team was hanging around the relegation zone for a dangerous amount of time. The fans were furious then but must be delighted with this summer’s transfer window development.
West Ham pre-season
The Hammers have played six pre-season friendlies so far, losing the first one to the Swiss side Winterthur and then winning four out of their next five. They have one more game to go against Angers (tomorrow), before taking on Liverpool at Anfield Road in the team’s first match in this Premier League season.
