Balbuena Believes Colombian Star Cuellar Would Be A Success At West Ham

Balbuena Believes Colombian Star Cuellar Would Be A Success At West Ham

West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena is backing Flamengo midfielder Gustavo Cuellar to be a success if he were to move to the Hammers.

The midfielder was linked with a £24m move to the London Stadium earlier this summer, and when asked about the possibility of playing alongside the Colombian, Balbuena replied:

“I know Cuellar, he plays for Flamengo and he’s in a great phase, he’s very good. We played against him in the last game [for Paraguay. I did not hear this news and rumours there (England). But if it is true, he will help a lot”

Balbuena’s Paraguay lost to Colombia in the group stages of the Copa America with the only goal of the game coming from Cuellar.



The midfielder is unlikely to be a top priority for West Ham considering they have already signed one midfielder in Pablo Fornals in recent weeks.

Cuellar is a more defensive player than the Spaniard, though, and was probably looked at as potential competition for Mark Noble and Declan Rice.

The Hammers’ Director of Football Mario Husillos did pluck Balbuena from Brazilian club Corinthians last summer so it wouldn’t be surprising if he repeated the trick, but it seems the club’s focus is currently on signing a new striker.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.