Inside man in Brazil is Steiden’s secret weapon

The signing of Brazilian talent Luis Guilherme before the start of the official transfer window was seen as a bit of a coup by West Ham United: It seems as if Tim Steiden had direct access to the best young talent in the country, beating other clubs and pulling off what will hopefully be seen as a piece of ‘Pearl Diving’ : Unearthing a star in the making without the £50 M price tag.

In what could be a good foundation for the future, it is clear our Director of Football had been cultivating great contacts and working relationships during his previous trips and now, according to South American news site ‘Premier League Brasil‘ it has revealed that a particular assistant on the ground in South America has given the Hammers the inside info on some of the best new talent.

West Ham have appointed former defender Naldo, now a businessman, who has a ‘great relationship’ with Steiden, as an advisor to help track down and negotiate on their behalf. He has, apparently, been  working hard suggesting up-and-coming players for consideration.

In 2023 when West Ham tried to sign Yuri Alberto from Corinthians, albeit unsuccessfully, again ‘Agent Naldo’ suggested the player.

According to the same source, regarding our successful signing in June, Naldo is quoted as saying ‘Luis Guilherme has been outstanding for some time and has attracted interest from several clubs: I got in touch with the players’ Manager, we started to draw up the negotiation and in the end it was good for both sides’.

Apparently the same advisor was also consulted in the (so far) unsuccessful attempts to sign Wesley – but there may still be more mileage in that transaction. With our club having set up a great scouting and aquisition source in Brazil, we can look forward to this relationship bearing more fruit in the future. It would certainly explain us being linked with a succession of young, talented players from Brazil.