Yuri Alberto ‘preferred not’ to join West Ham United in the summer transfer window even after the Premier League outfit made a £15.5 million bid for Corinthans’ Brazil international.
After a brief ‘will he, won’t he?’ saga towards the back end of the summer window, the deadline passed on September 1st without Yuri Alberto posing for photos arm in arm with David Moyes, a claret-and-blue scarf wrapped around his neck.
West Ham United reportedly made a bid of £15.5 million in August (Gazeta Esportiva).
Sky Sports went as far as to say that Alberto was keen on the move; Hammers director Tim Steitden doing like he did with Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus and jetting out for face-to-face talks.
Corinthians chief Ricardo Bonomo, however, now provides a different side of the story. One which tells a tale of Alberto being keen to stay and rediscover his form after a barren run in front of goal.
West Ham miss out on Yuri Alberto
“Yuri Alberto commented that there was an offer to go to West Ham for 18 million euros,” Bonomo, who works as an advisor to Corinthians president Dulio Monteiro Alves, tells Meu Timao.
“He preferred not to now, despite Yuri being in bad form and being heavily criticised. He is a player who will be able to rediscover his value.”
Alberto, a long-time West Ham target, has scored just four goals in 20 Brazilian Serie A games this season. Only two have come in his last nine outings, the form which caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs during his formative years at Internacional conspicious by it’s absence.
“(Yuri Alberto) is a spectacular striker,” said his former Internacional coach David Aguirre at the time. “We’ll see Yuri at a big club like Chelsea or AC Milan. Big teams. With Yuri, the same thing will happen as with Alisson at Liverpool, who was also my player.
“He has everything needed to succeed. (He has) quality. He’s an excellent professional, a very good boy.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
