Why West Ham should reignite interest in Jovane Cabral in January

Back in September, a report from Portuguese outlet A Bola (h/t MSN) claimed that West Ham were among the Premier League clubs interested in signing Sporting Lisbon winger Jovane Cabral.

The report mentioned London rivals Tottenham and Fulham as other potential suitors for the 22-year-old, who was valued at £31.4million by the Portuguese giants. It was also claimed that the Hammers had previously submitted an offer of around £13.4 million for the winger, but Sporting weren’t willing to open negotiations for anything less than £20m.

Nothing came to fruition, though, with Cabral eventually staying put at his current club as the October 5 deadline brought an end to the summer window. 

Profile

Born in Cape Verde, Jovane Cabral started his footballing education with Gremio Nhagar in his homeland before joining Sporting Lisbon’s youth ranks back in 2014. The winger initially caught the eye for the club’s U-19 and U-23 sides before earning promotion to the reserves and eventually made his first-team debut during the 2017-18 campaign.

Cabral has since carved out a reputation for himself as one of the most exciting attacking prospects in the Portuguese top-flight, registering 11 goals and 11 assists in 54 appearances across all competitions. The right-footed ace has also drawn admiring glances for his performances in the Europa League, with several top clubs tracking the youngster’s progress.

West Ham would benefit from Cabral’s potential

Right-back Vladimir Coufal was the only fresh addition to West Ham’s ranks before the international deadline as the Hammers found it tough to get deals over the line for their rumoured targets. David Moyes, though, will be hoping for some late fireworks from his recruitment team, with the domestic window still open until October 16. 

The departure of Felipe Anderson on loan to Porto has left West Ham with a shortage of specialist wide attacking options. Grady Diangana was expected to be a part of the club’s plans this season after impressing on loan at West Brom in the Championship last term, but the Hammers opted to sanction a permanent exit for the youngster in a deal that came as a shock to most fans. 

Jarrod Bowen has established himself as an undisputed starter down the right under Moyes with Pablo Fornals shifted to a wide role on the left. Andriy Yarmolenko has been used as a back-up option but considering the Ukrainian’s struggles with injuries over the past two years, West Ham ideally need another out-and-out winger in their ranks. 

To that end, West Ham reigniting interest in Jovane Cabral would be ideal if they look to add more depth and quality to their attack in January. The 22-year-old has the versatility to play anywhere across the forward line, while his track record at Sporting Lisbon suggests that the winger has sufficient end product to his game at a young age.

Cabral’s arrival would certainly increase competition for places out wide on the flanks while the fact that he still has his best years ahead of him means that West Ham should view the youngster as a good long-term investment to improve the quality of their supply lines. 

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Verdict

West Ham will be hoping for Sporting to lower their audacious valuation of Jovane Cabral when the transfer window reopens next year. If not, the Hammers should still continue to pursue an interest and try to iron out the right structure of a deal with various clauses in order to eventually take the fee closer to the asking price.

All in all, West Ham revisiting their interest in the Cape Verdean star would pay off handsomely for their long-term plans moving forward.