New reports claim West Ham have had very positive contacts with some intermediaries for Bernard, who will leave Shakhtar Donetsk on a free transfer.
Manuel Pellegrini previously wanted to take him to China and his agent is Kia Joorabchian – who also represents Felipe Anderson. Bernard claims to have attracted interest from a number of European clubs as he ponders his career after Shakhtar Donetsk.
The 25-year-old was bought by Shakhtar from Atletico Mineiro for €25 million in 2013 and, with his contract expiring imminently, will be available to sign with any club for no fee and is likely to have a number of offers.
Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca famously met with David Sullivan at his Essex mansion before the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini later signing a new contract with Shakhtar.
https://youtu.be/zXDWp3rdaUI
SIGN HIM UP ASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great article Sean!
If we could somehow sign Bernard, it could be ‘the signing’ of the summer..
Why sayeth I?
This guy is a flair player, who is equally strong with either foot. he could play on either win, attacking midfielder, or left/right midfielder.
Lets look at his attributes!!
This guy is super-fast, and can dribble with flair at high speed.
He has very good ball skills, and has a good sense of positioning and good vision and an ability to read the game.
He has a fairly decent shot with either foot, can bend and curl the ball, like most good Brazilian players.
IMHO, he is another notch up from Anderson, and Pellegrini would have the luxury of playing him on either side of the pitch.
Grab him, please!!
Seems like a no brainer…….but whether or not we get him is another matter……all the other deals we’ve been linked with have dragged on and on ……will we be buying any marquee players ?….the jury is still out !! I’m sure we will all be waiting patiently all summer…I know the board have numerous issues to resolve over the stadium, but I’m still waiting for the exciting new arrivals……..looks like we might be waiting awhile….Smdh
West Ham would have known for quite a while that Bernards contract would be up; it would have been on the published list. So I wonder if they would have gone for him, even if Anderson had already signed. Especially since Lanzini’s injury. I suspect they will still try again for Anderson even if they get Bernard.
I hope so. That would really put cats in amongst pidgeons.
If he’s worth £25m why don’t the board just offer him a massive signing on fee, lets be fair even if they gave him £10m we’ve still got an amazing player for less than half his value.