West Ham are eyeing up a deal which could bring one of Europe’s finest goalscoring midfielders back to the Premier League – and he would return to England with the backing of Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes.
In truth, it should come as no surprise to learn that Fernandes is a keen admirer of the man who, HITC Football were informed, has been watched up close by West Ham in recent weeks.
Following Fernandes’ £47 million move to Man United in January 2020, Sporting Lisbon may felt that finding a replacement would be, if not quite Mission Impossible, then certainly Mission Improbable.
Those concerns were quickly put to bed, however, once Pedro ‘Pote’ Goncalves joined in a £6 million deal from Famalicao a few months later.
The one-time Wolves starlet has often been labelled the second coming of Bruno Fernandes in Lisbon. And, make no mistake, this not merely a lazy, half-baked comparison based on nothing more than their shared Portuguese passports and their favoured attacking midfield role.
West Ham United eye ‘new Bruno Fernandes’
Pote, who is one of hte names under consideration by West Ham’s technical director Tim Steitden, shares Fernandes’ vision and guile from the number eight spot. But the main reason for those comparisons is their respective eye for goal.
Fernandes was prolific in green-and-white.
And Pote’s record – 71 goals in 164 games – is almost identical to that of the Man United skipper. The late-blooming 25-year-old already has 30 goals or assists combined this term, and is probably best remembered for that 46-yard stunner which sent Arsenal packing from the Europa League a year ago.
“I think Pedro Gonçalves has shown great dynamics over the years,” Fernandes tells A Bola of the man who stepped into his Sporting shoes.
Pote might not equal his tally of 20 goals from 2022/23. But Fernandes feels that the Sporting star has developed into a more complete player under Ruben Amorim, the goalscoring burden now shouldered by the remarkably consistent Viktor Gyokeres.
Hailed by Manchester United captain
“This season is probably the one in which he’s played best. But, as his numbers have dropped since the first season, people (doubt him),” Fernandes adds.
“He’s created a very high standard of goals and assists, so the pressure on him is very high. However, I think that Pote has been more influential in the team’s play now than he was when Sporting were champions (in 2021) and he scored a lot of goals.”
Steitden has plenty of credit in the bank already at West Ham following the hugely successful additions of Edson Alvarez and Mohamed Kudus. Pedro ‘Pote’ Goncalves, especially if Manchester City come calling again for Lucas Paqueta, could be another inspired piece of business.
There is a £70 million release clause in Pote’s contract. One assumes West Ham will only pursue a deal if a fee can be negotiated.
HITC have been told that The Hammers are also eyeing another exciting attacking midfielder. Albeit a much more affordable one. Former Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembele has been a revelation on loan at Blackpool this term.