Report: West Ham now make their move to sign ‘perfect’ 23-year-old, after Liverpool step away from deal

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West Ham United have made a bid for Sporting Lisbon midfielder and reported Liverpool transfer target Matheus Nunes.

That’s according to Portuguese outlet Record. They claim that the Hammers have tabled a £30m offer to Sporting. The bid reportedly comes with just over £25m up front, and almost £5m in add-ons.

However, Sporting are said to be holding out for more like £42m for the 23-year-old.

This comes after news yesterday that Liverpool had chosen to walk away from their supposed interest in Nunes. Reports linking The Reds to the midfielder had intensified over recent days, but have seemingly now been put to bed.

Nunes possibly heading to the Premier League

The insinuation throughout this summer-long saga has been that Nunes would only leave Sporting for a Champions League side.

That makes sense, given that his current club will once again compete in the competition this season.

As a result, a move to a side such as West Ham, or the oft-linked Wolves, could be seen as a step down. Of course such a move would still give Nunes the chance of playing in the Premier League, which would surely attract most players.

But with names such as Liverpool and Manchester City being thrown around, it’s easy to see why this particular player wouldn’t settle for less.

Liverpool back in the picture next year?

At times, players may be better sticking around for another season and seeing where that takes them.

Liverpool will reportedly be in the market for a midfielder or two in a year’s time. Or maybe even in January. It’s feasible to think that Nunes, who was described as having the ‘perfect’ profile for The Reds by journalist Dean Jones (The Football Terrace), could be back on their radar then.

In that respect, a move is much more likely to happen if he stays at Sporting. Should he jump ship to a Wolves or a West Ham, those sides could well price him out of a move to a Premier League competitor.

Nunes does indeed look like the kind of player that Liverpool tend to go for. It now seems virtually impossible that a move will happen this summer, though. If he does come to England in the coming weeks, we could get a front-row seat to what we could have won.

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