Brentford and West Ham are reportedly preparing January bids for Lecce’s highly rated defender Tiago Gabriel — but face serious competition from Juventus for his signature.
The 20-year-old centre-back has been a revelation in Serie A since joining Lecce from Estoril for just £1.5 million last January, and his performances have quickly attracted the attention of Europe’s elite.
West Ham have struggled defensively all season. Manager Nuno Espírito Santo has managed to coax improvement from £35m signing Jean-Clair Todibo, but the even more expensive Max Kilman has yet to find any real consistency and has been at the heart of too many West Ham errors.
Nuno Eyes Reinforcements as Defensive Issues Mount
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With only Dinos Mavropanos as senior backup, Nuno is expected to dip into the market for a new defender. Charlie Cresswell has been mentioned as a possible option, but Tiago Gabriel has now emerged as a genuine target.
According to reports, Brentford, [West Ham](https://www.claretandhugh.info/category/news/) and Juventus have all held preliminary talks with Gabriel’s representatives ahead of a potential winter move. Lecce are expected to demand around £20 million for the Portuguese youngster, whose stock continues to rise.
Juventus are thought to be leading the chase, but further interest is expected to emerge as clubs look to strengthen their back lines ahead of the second half of the season.
Despite his age, Gabriel has already proved himself as a consistent senior performer — holding down regular starting roles in both Portugal and Italy, as well as featuring for Portugal’s Under-21s alongside Mateus Fernandes.