West Ham’s £25m man Luis Guilherme has given the game away with an exciting post on social media ahead of his big unveiling.
Most West Ham fans refuse to believe a deal is done until they say one of two things.
A picture of technical director Tim Steidten on a plane with the player and his agent.
Or the player in question actually holding up the West Ham shirt having signed on the dotted line.
The latest transfer collapse involving Fabricio Bruno only served to underline that for West Ham supporters.
And that deal had looked home and hosed transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano gave it his trademark ‘here we go’ only for Bruno to snub the move at the 11th hour.
Since then Steidten has been working on making Palmeiras teenage sensation Luis Guilherme the club’s first signing of the Julen Lopetegui era.
West Ham on verge of announcing first signing
On Saturday Guilherme was cleared to fly to London to have his Hammers medical.
The 18-year-old was released after West Ham agreed a deal with Palmeiras worth a total of around £25m including add-ons.
Guilherme touched down on Monday and underwent an extensive two-day medical before being given the usual welcoming presentations by Mark Noble and the West Ham team behind the scenes.
The Brazil Under 20 star has since been doing his Hammers in-house media packages.
Some fans may still prefer to hold off on getting too excited until the club officially announces the deal.
They’ve been scarred by too may false dawns in the past after all.
But West Ham’s new £25m man Guilherme gives the game away with a post on social media.
Guilherme gives the game away with social post
The jet-heeled attacker took to his Instagram Stories last night to share picture of him in a car smiling.
Eagle-eyed West Ham fans will notice something out of the window in the image that suggests this deal is done.
Take a look and you will spot the claret and white crossed Hammers sheeting which covers the fencing at West Ham’s Rush Green training ground.
Guilherme then posted pictures in Piccadilly Circus and said he was ‘celebrating’ at the restaurant Novikov.
Guilherme is clearly excited to be signing for West Ham.
And West Ham fans are certainly excited to have him from what they’ve seen on YouTube.
Although as with any move, there are some doubters.
Guilherme looks like a very exciting player based on some video clips online.
But a couple of weeks ago the vast majority of West Ham fans and most journalists covering the Premier League had – if they’re being honest – never heard of him.
There is of course excitement in West Ham circles about the arrival of Guilherme, a Brazil Under 20 international.
Concerns should be eased by rival interest
Especially after he was compared to West Ham’s own Mohammed Kudus and even dubbed the ‘new Ronaldinho’ by some experts.
Videos on the likes YouTube show Guilherme is clearly rapid and very skilful.
But some have pointed out the clips often cut off at the end, suggesting Guilherme’s end product may need a lot of work.
Some supporters have raised concerns about bringing such an 18-year-old straight into the best and toughest league in the world straight from Brazilian football.
At a reported £25m, there is undoubtedly a certain amount of risk attached to the signing of a young star unproven at the top level. That’s the case with any transfer, though.
There is also the elephant in the room which is Guilherme’s statistics.
But it is a case of in Steidten we trust until we have reason not to.
What we must remember is that Guilherme isn’t going to be anything close to the finished article at 18 years of age. So expectations should be adjusted accordingly.
The Hammers are paying for Guilherme’s potential in order to sign him before other clubs get the chance or realise how good he is.
West Ham fans should also be reassured somewhat by a claim that several several Premier League clubs were seriously interested in West Ham’s imminent first signing of the summer.