Former Brazil international joy in the legs Bernard, not seen in the famous shirt since the infamous 7-1, has been a free agent since letting his Shakhtar contract expire earlier this summer.
Still just 25 and decently talented, there’s an ever growing circle of teams vying for his signature. The latest to join the dance, according to the Guardian, are West Ham, who have already spent big on the likes of Felipe Anderson (£36m from Lazio) and Andriy Yarmolenko (£17.5m from BVB), so adding another quality player for free for Manuel Pellegrini to use could make them quite formidable in attack indeed.
GUARDIAN West Ham aim to beat Chelsea to signing of Brazil winger Bernard https://t.co/Dhl2Onxvn8
— Chelsea FC RSS Feeds (@CFCrss) August 4, 2018
Chelsea reportedly gave Bernard until Tuesday to decide whether or not he wants to join the cause. He has already received offers from clubs all over Brazil and Europe since leaving Shakhtar, but has not put pen to paper to any of the deals sitting on his table.
AC Milan (led by sporting director Leonardo, a former Brazil international) looked close to signing him after holding talks with his representatives but Chelsea came calling and the Rossoneri deal could be dead in the water. But another turnaround might be in the cards, though, with West Ham getting in the mix.
Bernard’s wage demands have been reported as anywhere from £100k to £200k, but as per the Guardian’s report, he’s willing to lower those if any team offers him a guarantee of minutes. He’s unlikely to receive that from any team, but some are more likely to play him more than others.
Speaking of minutes, not signing Bernard would probably give more to Callum Hudson-Odoi, so that’s fine by us.