According to reports on Sport Witness, West Ham United are said to be battling with some of their Premier League rivals to sign Ludogorets forward Jonathan Cafu this summer.
The 25-year-old is said to be available for £10.2m after another impressive campaign for the Bulgarian outfit, and the Hammers, Leicester City and top flight new-boys Brighton and Hove Albion are all said to be keen on bringing the Brazilian attacker to England.
Irons manager Slaven Bilic is keen to strengthen his squad this summer in what has been a disappointing campaign, with his team struggling to adapt to life at the London Stadium as well as putting in a number of poor performances throughout the campaign.
One area he will be looking at in particular is in attack, where the club has sometimes struggled this term because of the injury problems for Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho.
Here are three reasons West Ham should steer clear of signing Cafu…
His lack of European football experience
While the Brazilian forward has impressed for Ludogorets this season – scoring 14 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions – there will be some concerns that his spell with the Bulgarian side is his first in Europe following a move from his homeland and that he is yet to play in one of the continent’s major leagues.
It would be something of a risk to bring the 25-year-old to England and hope that he would quickly hit the ground running – especially with some of the bad luck the Irons have had with attacking signings in recent years.
His career to date
Despite being just 25 years of age, Ludogorets are the Brazilian forward’s seventh club in his career and that could prove to be a worry for Irons boss Slaven Bilic.
The Croatian will be looking for an attacking player that will join the Hammers and make a long-term impact at the London Stadium this summer, but Cafu’s record suggests that he doesn’t have the loyalty to be with the team for more than a couple of years.
The club's track record
As we alluded to previously, the Irons haven’t had a lot of luck with the attacking players they have brought to the club from clubs abroad in the last couple of seasons and Cafu would be another risk.
Last summer, hopes would have been high that loanees Simone Zaza and Jonthan Calleri could make a real impact in the Premier League, but the former failed to score a single goal before his move was cut short and he returned to parent club Juventus in January, while the latter has only recently become a regular in Slaven Bilic’s matchday squad.
Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.
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