According to reports in The Telegraph, West Ham United have launched a club-record £27.1m bid for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, who has similar qualities to those of Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Telegraph says that Irons representatives are currently in the Portuguese capital and that negotiations between the two clubs have been going on for a week.

The Telegraph says that Sporting are keen to try and get £36.1m for the highly-rated Portugal international, but they are aware of his desire to play in the Premier League and West Ham have taken advantage of that knowledge by offering a lower sum of £27.1m.

While The Telegraph says that the Hammers wouldn’t be willing to pay the fee that the Liga NOS outfit want, talks between the two clubs remain positive and sources close to the deal are optimistic that it will get done.

How did Carvalho do last season?

The 24-year-old was once again an impressive performer in defensive midfield for Sporting Lisbon, scoring two goals and providing four assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for the Portuguese outfit.

However, he is known for his defensive abilities and he made 43 interceptions and 36 clearances in 32 Liga NOS appearances last season, while he successfully won 46 tackles and 34 aerial duels.

Carvalho also showed how comfortable he is in possession with a passing accuracy of 88%, and he is also happy to bring the ball forward rather than just distributing right away as he showed by successfully completing 35 of the 43 take-ons he attempted.

Would he be a good signing for West Ham?

He certainly would be.

Carvalho has long been linked with a move to the Premier League and his physical nature and ability almost guarantee that he will be a success in the English top flight.

Having been a major part of the Portugal side that won Euro 2016 and with plenty of experience in European football with Sporting Lisbon, bringing the 24-year-old to the London Stadium would have to be seen as something of a coup.

However, with the likes of Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble in the middle of the park it will certainly be interesting to see where exactly he would fit in, with Obiang in particular and impressive performer for the Irons last season.

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