Flamengo insist that they are not in ‘contact’ with Premier League outfit West Ham United regarding a potential £35 million deal for Brazil international Pedro, reporter Jorge Nicola explains on his official YouTube page.
Hammers fans have good reason to take Nicola’s word as gospel.
The Brazilian reporter was a reliable source of information during West Ham’s pursuit of Sao Paulo defender Luizao the other side of Christmas, and his detailed knowledge of the Brazilian market mean Nicola is worth listening to again amid speculation suggesting that Pedro could be on his way to the London Stadium.
“I went to check with Flamengo,” Nicola begins. “(They) assured me that there was never any contact from anyone from West Ham.
“This offer of 40 million euros (£35m) seems to me to be way above what the market would actually pay. Perhaps an offer of 30 million euros is enough to get the player out of Flamengo.”
West Ham’s Pedro links wide of the mark
Regardless of how much Pedro is worth, reports linking West Ham with the Rio-born 25-year-old appear to be just that. Reports. Rumours without foundation.
David Moyes already has a physical, 6ft-something number nine at his disposal already, even if Gianluca Scamacca has not quite lived up to expectations in claret-and-blue. Pedro scored a remarkable 29 goals last season. But West Ham are not going to give up on Scamacca so soon. Especially after spending £35.5 million on the former Sassuolo talisman.
The biggest problem, after all, is not with Scamacca’s finishing but with a lack of service. Even Gordon Ramsay would struggle to cook up a Michelin star meal with ingredients picked up from FarmFoods.
Scamacca is currently unavailable due to injury. Moyes, however, is ‘hoping’ to see the towering Italian return sooner rather than later.
“We’re hoping that maybe some time next week we might get Gianluca back. Maybe middle of next week,” Moyes told Football London before Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea. “When I say back, I mean back in training.”
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