West Ham are preparing a move to sign a player who may be usurped at Flamengo by Lucas Paqueta.
It is not an old-school swap deal in any sense of the imagination, but the Hammers are looking to sign Flamengo midfielder Evertton Araujo - a player who could see his place in the Brazilian team by the former West Ham man.
Paqueta completed a £35.5million move back to his boyhood club in the January transfer window, having been given permission by the Hammers to speak to his old club about a move home.
Now Araujo could make the move in the other direction.
West Ham Keeping Tabs On Evertton Araujo
Nuno Espirito Santo
According to Coluna do Fla journalist Leo Jose, as per Sport Witness, the Hammers have already approached the player through their scouting department and have placed him under close observation.
However, there could be some discord over the price tag. The Hammers are understood to have valued the midfield man at around €12million (£10.2million), but the Brazilian side think he is worth significantly more and will no doubt demand more should he have a good first half to the new Brazilian league season.
There could also be problems getting a deal over the line due to economic rights. The Sport Witness report goes on to state that third tier side Volta Redonda hold 30% of the player's economic rights, while Flamengo control the remaining 70%. This split means any future sale would require careful negotiation to satisfy all parties involved.
Former Chelsea Star Filipe Luis Loves Him At Flamengo
Filipe Luis
Former Chelsea player Filipe Luis is the manager of Flamengo and is a big fans of Araujo.
Speaking last year, he said: "I'm very proud of him. It's easy to say he deserves it, but he's a boy who's under a lot of pressure. He's never trained badly, on the contrary, he's the one who trains the best, the one who wants to learn the most, he's always happy.
"It's a luxury for the coach to have a player like that. Even though he's criticised by the fans, he needs to get used to it. I really like this kid; he has details about the defensive midfield position that no one else has. We have to be careful with him."
Araujo is under contract until December 2028 and Wolves have also show an interest in signing him.
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