West Ham target Pedro Goncalves is set to stay at Sporting Lisbon, according to Jornal de Noticias (JN).
The Portuguese newspaper claims Ruben Amorim’s decision to remain in charge of the Liga Portugal champions effectively “closes the door” on the winger being allowed to leave.
Amorim deems Goncalves “untouchable” and that means any hopes the Hammers had of securing his signature this summer have gone up in smoke.
JN report that both the London club and Aston Villa had set their sights on snapping up the 25-year-old, who has had another excellent season for Sporting.
Why is there so much interest in Goncalves?
The former Wolves player first came to the notice of English supporters when he scored from the halfway line against Arsenal in the Europa League last season.
However, Goncalves has been producing the goods over the last four years for Sporting, having now scored 76 goals and provided 50 assists in 177 appearances.
West Ham may have had an eye on him as a potential replacement for Paqueta
It looks increasingly likely that Lucas Paqueta will be leaving the London Stadium this summer. The Brazilian international has a £85m release clause in his contract and the player has been heavily linked with a switch to Manchester City.
If the midfielder does move clubs, West Ham technical director Tim Steidten will be keen to ensure that another playmaker is brought in.
Goncalves would not have been a like-for-like replacement. As mentioned already, he does play most of his football as a winger but it should be noted that Paqueta has been deployed in wide areas by the Irons on many occasions as well.
As things stand, though, unless the club are willing to trigger Goncalves’ €80m (£68m) release clause, it doesn’t look like he will be moving to London anytime soon.
