West Ham confident that they’ll sign Joao Palhinha

West Ham are close to completing a deal to sign Joao Palhinha from Sporting Lisbon according to a report in Portuguese outlet Record.

The 24-year-old is currently midway through a two-year loan at Braga and that loan is apparently complicating the deal, but West Ham remain confident of getting the signing completed in the near future.

The terms on Palhinha’s loan with Braga allow the Portuguese side to match any offer made to Sporting for his services, so Braga now have the opportunity to sign the player on a permanent basis by matching West Ham’s bid.

However, Palhinha has apparently told both Braga and Sporting that he would like to move to the Premier League and as such, Braga are not expected to match the offer made by the Hammers.

The defensive midfielder made 23 appearances for Braga last season and whilst they do not want to lose him, West Ham remain positive that they’ll get the transfer over the line.