West Ham step up pursuit of 'great' 21-year-old midfielder, agent heading to London for talks

West Ham United have reportedly stepped up their efforts to try and sign Sao Paulo’s Pablo Maia.

According to Brazilian journalist Jorge Nicola, the Hammers are set for talks with the midfielder’s agent.

West Ham are seemingly close to losing Declan Rice to Arsenal and will need to bring in a replacement.

As well as the Hammers, fellow Premier League side Fulham are reportedly in pursuit of Maia.

Nicola has spoken about West Ham and their London rivals on his YouTube channel.

He did so while discussing the state of play around Maia’s future ahead of the closure of the transfer window.

As per Sport Witness, Nicola claimed both clubs have now invited his agent Junior Pedroso for meetings in England.

Despite Sao Paulo’s resistance, West Ham and Fulham continue to ‘try and advance’ for Maia.

As for Pedroso, he’s reportedly supposed to be heading to Europe this week over some issues regarding Lucas Moura.

With that in mind, he will apparently use the trip to ‘sit at the table’ with West Ham and their London rivals.

West Ham’s chase is ‘more recent’ than that of the Cottagers – who tried to sign him in January – and also ‘very exciting’.

In terms of price tag, the Hammers – or their fellow suitors – can reportedly expect to pay over €20million (£17million).

Our view

West Ham enjoyed an outstanding end to last season, surviving in the Premier League and winning the Europa Conference League.

With that in mind, the Hammers have a good springboard upon which to kick on and hopefully do better on all fronts next term.

However, with Rice seemingly set to leave the London Stadium, they need to bring in a replacement for their captain.

Maia is an interesting shout for West Ham. He’s very highly rated and, at just 21, he’s already on 91 Sao Paulo appearances.

In March last year, Football Talent Scout named the ‘great’ talent as one of their Talents of the Day and said he was like a ‘mini-Casemiro’.

And at just £17million-plus, West Ham won’t have any issues beating what Maia’s club wants for him.

At the same time, the player may need a little time to get up to speed in the Premier League.

The Hammers ideally should sign someone who can hit the ground running in the English top flight.

Maia is certainly a good option for West Ham, but they could do with a more experienced signing alongside him.

This would enable the Brazilian a bit more time to get used to the style of the Premier League, and to life in a new country.