Exclusive: West Ham battling Fulham to seal €15m attacker transfer following talks

West Ham United and Fulham have both held talks with Corinthians over a potential transfer deal for highly-rated young Brazilian winger Wesley Gassova, CaughtOffside understands.

Sources with a close understanding of the situation have informed CaughtOffside that West Ham are making Wesley, 19, one of their priorities for the summer in a potential €15million deal, while Fulham have also spoken to his club Corinthians to get information on the player.

Clubs in La Liga and Serie A are also understood to be interested in Wesley, but the suggestion is that the two Premier League clubs have gone furthest with their interest so far, even if some issues remain.

For the moment, Corinthians value Wesley at around €25-30m, whereas West Ham have indicated they don’t want to pay more than €15m for the teenager.

This means we could still be some way before negotiations get anywhere concrete, so it will be interesting to see if his current club are prepared to lower their demands, or if the likes of West Ham and Fulham perhaps decide to look for alternatives elsewhere.

Wesley transfer: Where next for the talented young forward?

Wesley looks like he could have a big career ahead of him, but it remains to be seen where we’ll see him for the next stage of his development.

One imagines a young player from South America might find it an easier transition to go to Spain or Italy first, but it also shouldn’t be underestimated just how much he might want to try his luck in the Premier League.

West Ham and Fulham have both done well to give young players a chance down the years, with their star names then often earning bigger moves later, so Wesley could surely see these teams as decent stepping stone options for him.

Despite previous rumours about Liverpool, CaughtOffside understands the Reds have not made a move for Wesley as they are prioritising other attacking targets, including Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville.