Euro club made last-minute attempt to sign £25.5m West Ham flop on deadline day – report | OneFootball

FC Porto made a last-minute move to sign West Ham United flop Luis Guilherme, according to O Jogo.

The Portuguese giants reached out to the Hammers to understand the conditions of a potential loan deal for the young Brazilian who has struggled for playing time in East London.

The 18-year-old forward has managed just 50 minutes of senior football this season, leaving his camp concerned about his development.

Before the January transfer window deadline, Porto took early steps to sign Guilherme by reaching out to West Ham, but they didn’t formalise their interest with an official bid.

Porto’s approach was described as ‘exploratory’, suggesting that the Portuguese giants were gauging the feasibility of a deal before making a concrete offer.

If it was gonna happen, Porto would have needed to move quickly, but it appears they preferred looking elsewhere, with Guilherme now set to remain at West Ham for the rest of the season.

West Ham were keen to cut him loose during the transfer window and were open to loan and permanent deals, but they didn’t receive any satisfactory offers.

Despite his struggles at West Ham, Porto weren’t the only European giants looking to offer him an escape route out of East London.

Their Portuguese counterparts, Sporting CP, were also in the running alongside Dutch giants Feyenoord and Ukrainian powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk.

All potential suitors were monitoring Guilherme’s situation, although Shakhtar were the only club to submit a formal bid to sign the teenager.

The Ukrainian giants tabled an offer worth €15 million (£12.5m) for the 18-year-old, but it was quickly turned down by West Ham, who were hoping to recoup their initial €30m (£25.5m) investment in the winger.

The Hammers made the ill-advised move to sign Guilherme from Palmeiras in the summer of 2024 – a transfer sanctioned by technical director Tim Steidten, who paid for that decision with his job.

The youngster is under contract at West Ham until 2029.

However, despite his long-term deal, the lack of playing time could revive interest in his services in the summer unless he somehow breaks into the starting XI under Graham Potter.