An update has emerged on West Ham's pursuit of Matheus Pereira, with the Hammers making an opening offer for the midfielder...

What's the talk?

According to Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, West Ham have submitted an official offer of £12.8m (€15m) for West Brom attacking midfielder Matheus Pereira, with fellow Premier League side Leicester also said to be interested in him.

Konur claims that the Baggies are looking for a fee closer to £21m (€25m) and that Leicester are expected to make an offer before the end of the window.

Moyes would love him

GSB must go back in with another bid for Pereira if West Brom do reject this offer, which seems likely given that it is lower than their valuation of the Brazilian. He could be a phenomenal addition to the squad to help bolster David Moyes' attacking options, given his impressive performances for the Midlands club in the Premier League last season.

In the 2020/21 campaign, Pereira registered 11 goals and six assists for West Brom as they were relegated back down to the Championship. Despite his side's struggles, he was still able to show that he can score and assist goals on a regular basis at the top level.

Moyes would love him as he is a quality player, one who has the versatility to play in a variety of positions. Noel Whelan hailed him as a fantastic player, who could play anywhere within the attacking set-up, amid links with Leeds United. He told Football Insider: 

“He’s a fantastic player, he’s great on the ball, he can turn people inside out. Pereira’s another option we can use right across that front three and maybe in a number 10 role as well.

Ex-Spurs and England midfielder Jermain Jenas lauded him as silky and highlighted his set-piece quality as one of his biggest strengths.

He said: "He’s just silky. When he’s on it, he’s just got that lovely left-foot, (tucked) his penalty away, the delivery into the box for set-pieces was brilliant, and he wanted to showcase his skills."

At the age of 25, Pereira is heading towards the peak years of his career and still has room left to grow. Moyes could enjoy coaching the midfield maestro into becoming a key cog in his Hammers team alongside the likes of Said Benrahma, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen.

Therefore, West Ham must ensure that they can get a deal over the line for the Baggies forward as he would be a shrewd addition to the squad. The original bid was a lowball offer from GSB, they need to up it to closer to the fee that West Brom want or they risk missing out on an excellent prospect.

AND in other news, "Would be fairly expensive" - Evening Standard journalist hints West Ham can't afford 2 targets...