David Sullivan is proving he is not learning from his past errors amid reports West Ham United are keen to strike a deal to sign Sporting CP winger Gonzalo Plata.

What’s the word?

According to Record, West Ham are continuing to monitor Plata’s situation in Lisbon after the forward opened the door for a potential move away from the Jose Alvalade Stadium.

The London Stadium is believed to be a potential destination should the 20-year-old quit the Liga NOS giants, for whom he has represented five times across all competitions thus far this season but is yet to start a single fixture.

Ruben Amorim’s relentless preference to only name Plata on the bench has sparked the Ecuador international to decide that now is the best time to leave, having played just 64 minutes and not featuring with more than 10 minutes on the clock since October.

Lisbon are reluctant to sell Plata on the cheap with his contract running through to the summer of 2024 and will demand at least €20million (£18m), while his former side Independiente Del Valle would also be due 50% of any fee received though Sporting are in discussions over their percentage.

West Ham would prefer to sign Plata on loan with an option to buy, and are willing to wait until next summer, but could face competition from Newcastle United and SSC Napoli.

Another Sullivan blunder

West Ham moving to sign Plata in January or next summer would see Co-Owner and Chairman Sullivan sanction yet another blunderous transfer, having greenlit disastrous deals for the likes of Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, Javier Hernandez and Andre Ayew in recent years.

Only Yarmolenko of the aforementioned quartet remains at the London Stadium this season, but has featured for just 97 minutes and is yet to score or assist a goal over five substitute appearances from West Ham’s opening 10 Premier League fixtures.

Plata would be unlikely to offer much more than the veteran Ukraine international, having struck only three goals and penned two assists in 29 first-team games for Sporting since earning his senior debut under Marcel Keizer last season.

The 20-year-old is yet to even register a single shot or key pass in the Liga NOS this term, while playing on average just 4.8 accurate passes, making 0.8 successful dribbles and winning 2.5 duels (53%) in 17 minutes of action a game, per SofaScore.

His numbers were only marginally better last term when averaging 55 minutes per game over 21 outings of which he started 12, with Plata penning 0.6 shots, 1.0 key balls, 14.4 accurate passes, winning 4.9 duels (47%) and delivering 0.5 accurate crosses.

Unless Plata can turn his fortunes around over the remainder of the Portuguese top-flight campaign, Sullivan would be making a horrific mistake agreeing to pay €20m for the 8-cap Ecuador forward.

And in other news, David Moyes must solve a £19m West Ham star’s alarming issue ahead of facing Manchester United.