Sky claim striker talks

Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth claims that West Ham have held talks over a deal to sign Gabriel Barbosa from Flamengo this month.

The Hammers are desperate to sign a striker in the January window to provide support and back-up to Mikey Antonio up front, as he remains the only senior forward at the club.

Barbosa is known as Gabigol in his native Brazil and Sheth claims that the Irons have held initial talks over potentially signing him in January.

No fee is mentioned, nor is it clear whether a deal would be a loan or a permanent move, with Barbosa said to be keen to play in England as he looks to make the Brazil squad for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Barbosa scored 29 goals and registered 11 assists in 43 games in the 2020/21 season and has won a total of 17 caps for Brazil, scoring five times for the national team.

We’ll put this one down as one to keep an eye on in January; the Hammers do want a striker and it appears that Barbosa wants to move to Europe but these talks could just be a fact-finding mission for the Irons.