West Ham United defender Goncalo Cardoso is set to leave the club for a loan move to Real Betis, reuniting with former boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Portuguese newspaper Record claim that Cardoso will be loaned to Betis until the end of the season.
Betis will hold a purchase option in the deal, with West Ham seemingly ready to say goodbye to the defender.
The deal is allegedly imminent, with Cardoso’s loan spell at Swiss side Basel set to be cut short.
Last January, Cardoso joined Basel on an 18-month loan deal. Basel held a permanent option too, but Cardoso has managed just seven first-team appearances.
Unsurprisingly, West Ham haven’t been all that impressed with Cardoso’s progress and now seem willing to offload him.
Betis have swooped in to strike a loan-to-buy deal, which may sound rather surprising.
If Cardoso can’t get a game in Switzerland, what chance does he have in Spain’s top flight?
The big factor here is that Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini was in charge of West Ham when they signed Cardoso in 2019.
Cardoso had shown potential in Portugal with Boavista, prompting Pellegrini and Mario Husillos to snap him up.
The central defender has never made a first-team appearance for West Ham and his forgettable time with the club appears to be coming to an end.
Pellegrini didn’t use Cardoso at West Ham, but he must have seen something in the 21-year-old to want him again.
When Cardoso signed for West Ham, he admitted that he was ‘very excited’ to play under Pellegrini.
Cardoso will now have that opportunity again, with West Ham willing to move on from a cheap gamble that just didn’t work out.
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