We now know who the first signing will be of the Julen Lopetegui era at West Ham United. Brazilian central defender Fabricio Bruno is set to make the switch from Flamengo for an agreed upon fee of £12.5m plus £2.5m in add-ons, according to The Guardian.
With an agreement in place, and transfer fee figured out, all that remains is the medical evaluation and paperwork finalization.
That might come a lot sooner than you would expect, especially for a center back who has never played for a club outside his homeland, and is now jetting off across the pond.
That’s because Bruno was not selected for the Brazil team that will compete in this summer’s Copa America.
Although he was part of the Brazil squad for the international period this March.
??? Fabrício Bruno to West Ham, here we go! Verbal agreement now in place between West Ham and Flamengo for 28 year old centre back.
Exclusive details: €12m fixed fee plus €1.5m add-ons.
Brazilian CB will be first signing for Lopetegui at #WHUFC. ?? pic.twitter.com/WheZeliAtB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 27, 2024
Also, since we’re talking about transfers, and a guy named Fabricio, we couldn’t help but include a tweet from Fabrizio. See the X post above for more.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.