This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Ham United have set their sights on Norwich City midfielder Gabriel Sara, as per a report from The Sunday Mirror (12.03 - pg. 71)
The report claims that the Hammers will face competition from RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid, with the 23-year-old seriously impressing under David Wagner.
Sara has netted five goals and provided four assists from central midfield this season, starting 21 league games thus far and appearing a further nine times from the bench.
The 23-year-old joined the Canaries from Sao Paulo in the summer, arriving for a fee around the £6 million mark in a deal that involved plenty of add-ons.
Three of our writers here at FLW have shared their thoughts on Sara and whether or not he would represent a good addition to David Moyes' squad at West Ham when the summer comes around...
Billy Mulley
Sara is a very exciting player who has an incredibly high potential and it is no surprise that interest is already surfacing in the young midfielder.
Technically brilliant and a mature midfield talent, he also works with intelligence and intensity out of possession, which will only make him more desirable.
Of course, Norwich are competing for promotion to the Premier League and if that is achieved, you would think that the Hammers would be unable to strike a deal, especially with West Ham battling to avoid relegation themselves.
However, if the Canaries remain in the Championship and West Ham stay in England's top-flight, then this would represent excellent business both in the immediate future and when looking longer-term too.
There are not many, if any, better midfield talents progressing through the EFL at present and you would think that he is destined to play top-flight football relatively soon.
Josh Cole
When you consider that Gabriel Sara has produced a host of impressive performances for Norwich in the Championship this season, it is hardly a surprise that he has caught the eye of West Ham.
As well as providing nine direct goal contributions in the second-tier, the midfielder has also completed 34.1 passes per game and has made 1.1 tackles per fixture in a Canaries shirt.
If West Ham retain their top-flight status for another season, a move for Sara would be a wise call by the club as he certainly has the potential to become a classy operator at the highest level.
The one obstacle that the Hammers will need to overcome in this pursuit is the price that they will have to pay for Sara as Norwich will be holding out for a significant fee due to the fact that the midfielder’s contract runs until 2026.
Toby Wilding
This could be a decent signing for West Ham if they get it done.
They have recruited from the Championship in this sort of attacking midfield role with the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma, who have gone on to play important roles for the Hammers since then.
As a result, they could well be confident about making a move such as this, especially when you consider the fact that Sara has come to the fore in recent weeks for Norwich, producing some spectacular contributions in front of goal.
With that in mind, he could be an exciting addition to a West Ham side that does look as though it could benefit from something of a refresh after a below par campaign, which could make this a deal worth pursuing for those in charge at The London Stadium.