West Ham want £21m master from Europa rivals, more tackles than Rice

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West Ham United are looking to bring £21 million Thiago Mendes to the Premier League after coming up against the Lyon playmaker in Europe, Brazilian journalist Jorge Nicola says on his YouTube channel. 

David Moyes has faced off against a number of transfer targets during West Ham’s run to the Europa League semis. Paul Onuachu of Genk, Gonzalo Montiel and Youssef En-Nesyri of Sevilla and Tete of Lyon. 

But if Mendes wasn’t on Moyes’ hitlist before, he certainly is now. 

The 30-year-old Brazilian is a masterful deep-lying midfielder who shone under Marcelo Bielsa at Lille before joining OL for £21 million in 2019.

And, in truth, Mendes was one of the few Lyon players who came out of April’s Europa League quarter-final defeat to West Ham with his reputation relatively unscathed.  

Will Thiago Mendes be West Ham’s new Declan Rice?

“West Ham joined the race for Thiago Mendes,” says Nicola, one of the most respected reporters on the other side of the Atlantic. “(West Ham) have much greater potential to offer a better salary than Flamengo.

“Moreso, West Ham can give him the opportunity to play in the Premier League. The most sought-after league in football.”

Flamengo, winners of an unprecedented treble under veteran coach Jorge Jesus in 2019, recently backed out of the race for Mendes. Vice President Marcelo Braz confirmed the club’s stance, despite claiming that the former Sao Paulo ace was open to the idea of returning to his Brazilian roots. 

Interestingly, West Ham were first linked with the imposing Mendes back in 2018, shortly after Moyes’ first spell in charge at the London Stadium (The Times). His eventual arrival, four years later, would help fill a void created by the imminent retirement of Mark Noble.  

Alex Kral, meanwhile, will return to Spartak Moscow. 

As you might expect given his past under Bielsa, Mendes is an excellent passer of the ball. According to WhoScored, he has completed nearly 90 per cent of his passes this season.

Mendes is not afraid to stuck a boot in where it hurts either. His average of 2.4 successful tackles per game is a number superior to that of Declan Rice.