West Ham United are "pushing to sign" Manchester City's highly rated Portuguese youth international Carlos Borges as he enters the final year of his contract at the Etihad, claims Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
Is Carlos Borges joining West Ham United?
The Hammers said their goodbyes to club captain and England international Declan Rice earlier this month, as the deal to sell him to fellow London side Arsenal was finally announced after what must have felt like months of radio silence for fans of both sides.
While the club would probably rather still have their talismanic midfielder, the £105m that's now burning a hole in their pocket has perhaps helped to ease the pain of his exit somewhat.
With this new-found money, the club have unsurprisingly been linked to a whole host of brilliant players from across European football, but a name being touted for a move to the East End many may not be as familiar with is Carlos Borges.
The 19-year-old winger is currently plying his trade for City's youth sides after joining the club in 2014 following an impressive start to his footballing journey at Portuguese giants Sporting CP.
He has been prolific at every youth level for the European champions, scoring 22 goals in 35 Premier League 2 games and 23 in the Under-18 Premier League competition.
According to the Guardian, the Irons are 'close to winning the race' to sign the young winger from City's impressive academy setup for a fee of just £14m that will include a buy-back clause in the deal.
It would be a brilliant piece of business if the East End side could get it over the line, as German giants Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt are also interested in the dynamic winger.
Other than the buy-back clause, one of the reasons why the fee for such a highly rated youngster isn't as outrageous as some might have thought it would be is because he has just 12 months remaining on his current deal, per Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
He explained the situation live on Sky Sports News, which was posted to their YouTube channel:
"This is an interesting one because they're pushing to sign Carlos Borges from Manchester City. He's a Portuguese Under-19 international. Talks [are] ongoing over the structure of the deal; he's entered the final year of his City contract, so one to keep an eye on, there."
Who else have West Ham been linked to in the transfer window?
With Rice leaving a massive hole in the centre of the park for David Moyes' team, most of the players the club are said to be interested in are predominantly central midfielders.
The name that has probably been linked with a move to West Ham more than any other so far this window is Fulham's Joao Palhinha, who led in Europe's top five leagues for the most tackles last season, 147, and the most tackles won, at 83, per FBref.
Unfortunately, the club's initial £40m bid was firmly rejected by Fulham, with Football Insider reporting that the Cottagers have told West Ham that their midfield maestro is not for sale, while the Daily Mail claims that it would take an offer of £90m to secure his signature.
Outside of Fulham's star player, the Hammers have also been linked to Southampton's captain and set-piece specialist, James Ward-Prowse, who The Guardian says could cost the club in the region of £40m.
Whoever ends up donning the famous Claret and Blue next season, the London Stadium will likely be watching a very different team to the one they saw last year.
