West Ham United have yet to make a signing so far during the summer transfer window, but with the sale of Declan Rice giving David Moyes a war chest of £105m, this will surely change in the coming weeks.
The Irons are already close to securing the signature of Manchester City youngster Carlos Borges, and he could be Moyes first summer deal.
Are West Ham United close to signing Carlos Borges?
Last week, The Manchester Evening News claimed that West Ham were working on a deal to sign the teenage prospect this summer, with Moyes paying £14m to secure his signature.
A recent update on the move has been delivered by ExWHUemployee on The West Ham Way Patreon (via The West Ham Way), saying: “The Carlos Borges transfer is very close to being agreed with Manchester City now and hopefully can all be finalised soon.
“The main stumbling block appeared to be the buy back clause.
“Manchester City have inserted these clauses into contracts of previous youngsters they have sold such as Romeo Lavia to Southampton. Other clubs have also used these strategies too such as Chelsea with Tino Livramento again to Southampton and Tammy Abraham to Roma.
“It is thought that Borges buy back clause will be around £40m which is a decent figure considering we are due to sign him for around £14m.”
What could Carlos Borges offer West Ham?
The left-winger has scored an impressive total of 55 goals in just 79 matches during his spell in the City youth teams, displaying his keen eye for goal and this could give West Ham a goal-scoring boost from a wide position.
Across three appearances in the Football League Trophy last term, Borges was outstanding. He scored four times, averaged 1.7 key passes per game while grabbing an assist and created one big chance. This suggests that not only does he have a clear ruthless nature in front of goal, but the youngster can create chances for others.
Journalist Tom Young waxed lyrical about Borges last year, saying: “Carlos Borges is the real deal. Get this man training with Erling and Julian as soon as possible. The sky is the limit.”
On the surface, Moyes looks like he has a player who could go straight into the first team judging by his recent statistics; however he could well be an ideal heir for Said Benrahma.
The Algerian winger enjoyed a mixed campaign during 2022/23, ranking third for goals scored (six) in the Premier League and second for big chances created (five), however he ranked eighth for overall Sofascore match rating (6.86) and if Borges arrived, there could be a battle for the left-wing spot.
Despite not playing a senior game for City, Borges clearly did enough last term for the U21 side to warrant game time in the top flight, registering a staggering 32 goal contributions – 21 goals and 11 assists – across just 24 matches in the Premier League 2.
Although the 27-year-old has three years left on his current West Ham deal, the imminent arrival of Borges will have him looking over his shoulder and there is no reason why the Portuguese sensation cant be an ideal long-term heir for Benrahma.