West Ham United missed out on William Carvalho last summer.
West Ham United are looking to steer clear of the relegation zone this season, and have recently produced some impressive defensive displays under David Moyes.
With the Hammers finding some hope under Moyes, fans will hope to push away from the bottom three and towards midtable with Moyes potentially eyeing up January recruits.
One area that Moyes should be looking to strengthen is in central midfield, where Mark Noble’s influence is diminishing and both Cheikhou Kouyate and Pedro Obiang have been inconsistent.
Over the summer, West Ham attempted to land Sporting midfielder William Carvalho before a deal fell apart amid a huge bust-up between the two clubs – but the Hammers must return for their long-term target in January, who was wanted by former manager Slaven Bilic according to The Guardian.
It’s not even just the Hammers as a club who have been tracking Carvalho for the long-term, as The Mirror reported back in March 2014 that now-West Ham boss Moyes was attempting to land the midfielder for Manchester United in a £37million deal.
With a position of need as well as prior effort from the Hammers and Moyes, a move for Carvalho looks to be sensible for West Ham, finally handing club and manager one of their long-term targets.
Carvalho, 25, has starred for Sporting in recent years, impressing with his power and passing range, as well as his ability to protect the back four; all attributes which would hand Moyes a boost in midfield.
The Portuguese international, who has 40 caps to his name, would be the major addition that West Ham’s midfield needs for the second half of the season and beyond, and with the relationship with Sporting now repaired, the stars may just be aligning for West Ham and Moyes to finally sign Carvalho in 2018.
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