West Ham United are closing in on the signing of Boavista centre-back Goncalo Cardoso to strengthen Manuel Pellegrini’s defensive options ahead of the 2019-20 season.
According to Sky Sports News, the Hammers are on the verge of completing a £2.75million deal for Cardoso following a breakthrough campaign in the Primeira Liga.
The 18-year-old made 15 league appearances for Boavista after debuting in October, as well as being ever-present as Portugal’s U19s reached the U19 European Championships Final in July.
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Once Cardoso makes the switch, he’ll have a monumental task finding a place in Pellegrini’s starting line-up with there already being four established first-team stars battling for their place.
Although Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna are now 31 and can’t be expected to play week-in-week-out, Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena will be staking a claim to regularly start in the heart of West Ham’s back-line.
The Hammers do need fresh faces at the back though. Those four centre-back options stand at an average age of 28, with Diop the only player under the age of 27.
It’s such a promising squad but exciting, young talent should also be welcomed and the home truth is that if Reid or Ogbonna – or both – were to suffer an injury, Pellegrini’s options would be thin.
The potential is clearly there with Cardoso and it’s a signing West Ham fans have reason to be getting excited about.
