Why West Ham should complete a raid on Brighton for Bernardo
Bernardo Fernandes is the subject of interest from various clubs including West Ham United, according to Sky Sports. The Brighton left-back is being offered to clubs on loan or permanent basis. As per the source, Istanbul Basaksehir and Newcastle are the other two clubs who have shown an interest in the Brighton man.
Profile
Bernardo Fernandes is a 25-year-old Brazilian left-back who started his career at Red Bull Brasil in 2014. With a paltry 6 appearances in two seasons, he moved to Red Bull Salzburg at the start of 2016.
He then joined RB Leipzig in August 2016 and went on to feature heavily for them throughout the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Brighton came calling in the summer of 2018 and he made the move to England.
In the last two seasons, he has made over 40 appearances for Brighton while picking up just the one assist. While those aren’t great numbers by any means, he remains an experienced full-back who has been around for a while and also has age on his side.
Do West Ham need him?
West Ham already have two decent players at left-back – Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku. For any transfer to take place, the Hammers would need to sell players first.
What makes Bernardo an appealing option is the fact that he is tremendously versatile. He can slot in at right-back, centre-back and defensive midfield. This is surely one of the factors West Ham should keep in mind if they think of passing up the chance to sign the Brazilian.
His Premier League experience would be an added bonus on top of the fact that he has Champions League exposure.
Read more
- Why West ham should keep hold of Arthur Masuaku
- Why West Ham should make a move for Mykola Matviyenko
Verdict
Bernardo’s versatility is a useful trait that David Moyes can use at the club. It remains to be seen how serious West Ham are about signing him. He comes with proven Premier League experience.