The country locked in World Cup fever for almost a month now, West Ham United have been quietly going about their business in a bid to improve their squad, build upon their 13th place Premier League finish last season, and appease unsettled fans who made their discontent well-known on several occasions throughout the 2017/2018 campaign.
Already, the east London club has broken its transfer record with a £25mn capture of Issa Diop from Toulouse and is reportedly making progress on eclipsing that fee with an astounding £40mn offer for Brazilian Lazio striker Felipe Anderson. As well as this, a number of free signings have also been made in Fulham full-back Ryan Fredericks, goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and reportedly his former Arsenal teammate Jack Wilshere who will be confirmed any day now.
Yet the Hammers’ most astute bit of business may be that conducted this weekend. As confirmed by Corinthians, a sum believed to be an eye-wateringly low release clause of €4mn has apparently been met for their captain Fabian Balbuena and terms consequently agreed with the Paraguayan international will see him flying to London to complete a medical immediately.
Known as ‘The General’ to adoring fans for his ability to lead from the back, Balbuena is regarded as one of South American club football’s greatest defenders alongside Brazilian international Pedro Geromel of Grêmio and led the passionately-followed São Paulo giants to a Brasileirão and Paulista state championship double in 2017 under Fabio Carille, who also departed for the Middle East recently to leave their former employers in crisis.
The Paulista was again captured this year with Balbuena in command but the 26-year-old now jumps ship with Corinthians midway through their national championship defence and a Libertadores campaign that finds them pitted against Chilean champions Colo-Colo in the competition’s last 16 next month.
Their loss is West Ham’s gain however and for a fraction of what it would cost to land most players of Balbuena’s standing and ability, the Irons can count among their ranks a domineering centre-back who is strong in the tackle, especially when tracking back, and has a penchant for headed goals from set pieces in addition to boasting natural leadership skills.
While it seems unlikely that the academy product and fan favourite will be relieved of the armband anytime soon, Mark Noble is getting on in years and Balbuena could be the perfect successor as skipper one day should he take to both English football and the local language.
