West Ham United submitted a bid for a late move to sign Fluminense midfielder Matheus Martinelli, according to Ekrem Konur.
The defensive midfielder came through the ranks at the Fluminense academy and has been a mainstay in the team since debuting on 1 December 2020 in a 0–0 draw against Red Bull Bragantino in the Brasileiro Série A.
Since then, he has gone on to make 299 games for the Tricolor, netting 15 goals and providing 18 assists.
He was notably impressive during last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, playing a key role in their run to the semi-finals, where they lost to Chelsea. He was part of the team that caused one of the tournament’s major upsets, defeating last season’s Champions League finalists, Inter Milan, 2-0. He also netted Fluminense’s opener in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Al-Hilal.
A World Cup call-up could also be on the cards for the 24-year-old, as Carlo Ancelotti was at the Maracanã during Fluminense’s 2-1 win over Gremio last month, where he impressed.
It appears the Brazil national team boss was not the only one impressed by the midfielder, as Konur claims that West Ham made a late move to sign Martinelli in the recently concluded winter transfer window.
Late swoop
The journalist adds that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side submitted a £10m formal offer to Fluminense for the possible transfer of the Brazilian to the London Stadium.
However, their offer was rejected by the 2023 Copa Libertadores champions, who are only entertaining £17m offers, with Olympiacos, Beşiktaş, and other clubs in the Middle East also keen.
West Ham currently have Soungoutou Magassa, Tomáš Souček, Freddie Potts, and Mateus Fernandes as midfield options, with Nuno preferring Souček and Fernandes as his preferred midfield pairings.
On the other hand, Potts, despite showing brilliance whenever called upon, still needs time to develop, while Magassa has not been reliably consistent.
As a result, a move for Martinelli would make sense: £17m would be a steal, as it costs less than the other options were purchased, and he could also serve as an immediate replacement for Souček, who is not expected to extend his stay at the club.
