West Ham asked to pay £16.6m for Arthur Cabral as loan proposal rejected
The rest of January is crucial for western hamwho have announced the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui and is expected to replace the former real Madrid boss with Graham Potter. They are currently ranked 14th in the first division and they have not been able to justify their summer reconstruction, although it is an open secret that they will seek to renew the team even more in the current window.
The offensive department is under special attention: Niclas Fullkrug has not made the desired impact since arriving from Borussia Dortmund, while Michail Antonio will be sidelined for the near future after a car accident. As a result, Benfica striker Arthur Cabral has appeared on the London club's radar.
According to the Portuguese media Maisfutebol (h/t 90min)West Ham have seen their proposal to obtain the forward's loan from Benfica rejected. However, the Liga NOS giants are willing to let him go on a permanent deal, and the Hammers will have to pay £16.6m to sign the 26-year-old, who has five goals this seasonincluded one in champions league.
A decent transfer for West Ham
Arthur Cabral's perm transfer remains a likely prospect considering he has fallen behind Vangelis Pavlidis in Benfica's pecking order. For £16.6m, West Ham can afford to invest in his signing as they would be acquiring a player with decent experience at a number of European teams, including playing in the Champions League.
A striker transfer could give the Hammers some much-needed scoring haul given they have only scored 24 goals in 20 games in the Premier League this season. Furthermore, Cabral is good physically and can also assist in playmaking, thus ensuring that Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen can also thrive in the final third.
West Ham's immediate objective will be to complete the appointment of Graham Potter, although from then on they are expected to make some additions to their squad, as they have also hired the former. Chelsea take into account the coach's comments. It will be exciting to see what business they do before the end of the month and whether they can push to finish in the top half of the Premier League.
