West Bromwich Albion are interested in signing Portuguese starlet Xande Silva from Premier League rivals West Ham United before the transfer window closes in early October, according to The Telegraph.
By the end of today, the Baggies could have a new midfielder in their ranks too.
All signs suggest the top-flight newcomers have fought off competition from the likes of Leeds United and Aston Villa to take Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher to the Hawthorns on a season-long loan.
But Gallagher, an England U21 international who shares Frank Lampard’s ability to make perfectly timed bursts into the penalty area, isn’t the only fresh-faced midfield dynamo on West Brom’s radar.
At the age of 23, Xande Silva finds himself at a crucial juncture in his career – unproven in the senior game but too old for the sanitised world of reserve-team football.
And, with West Ham boss David Moyes seemingly reluctant to put his faith in West Ham’s young midfielders, including the long-serving Josh Cullen, Silva must be tempted to swap London for the Midlands with only a year left on his contract.
Especially when you consider Slaven Bilic, a former Hammers coach, has done a brilliant job with West Brom’s fresh-faced prospects since taking over two years ago.
Grady Diangana, Silva’s former West Ham U23 teammate, sealed an £18 million move to West Brom last week after a stunning loan spell in the Championship, while Nathan Ferguson, Kyle Edwards and co went from strength to strength under Bilic.
Silva, a Portugal U20 international, joined West Ham from Benfica in 2018.
West Ham’s record transfers
- Sebastien Haller
£45 million
- Felipe Anderson
£41.5 million
- Marko Arnautovic
£25 million
- Pablo Fornals
£24 million
- Issa Diop
£22 million
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