David Moyes must look to boot Goncalo Cardoso out of West Ham United for the final time this summer after the defender’s London Stadium future came into question.
What’s the word?
According to Irons insider ExWHUemployee, Cardoso is unlikely to forge a career for himself in claret and blue.
West Ham spent £2.75m to sign the Portuguese centre-half from Liga NOS outfit Boavista in 2019, as the fifth signing of what would be Manuel Pellegrini’s final window at the helm.
Cardoso was highly-rated upon his arrival in the Premier League as cover for Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena, having helped Portugal to reach the final of that summer’s European Under 19 Championship.
But the 20-year-old is still yet to make a single competitive appearance in claret and blue and was only named on the bench five times across all competitions, before joining FC Basel on loan this January.
His deal with the Swiss Super League side runs until the summer of 2022 and features an option to be made permanent for an undisclosed fee at the expiration of the terms.
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It remains to be seen if the St. Jakob-Park natives explore the clause, having seen Cardoso endure a mixed start to life under head coach Patrick Rahmen with four starts from six appearances from a possible 12 to date.
Should Cardoso have a future at West Ham?
West Ham had high hopes for Cardoso after beating out rival interest from SL Benfica, Inter Milan and SS Lazio for his signature, with former Director of Football Mario Husillos claiming he was “a player for the future, with a lot of potential”.
That potential has not been seen in east London with Cardoso still yet to feature in a first-team fixture, and may never be seen if Basel take up their option to buy.
But Moyes should look to bring forward the inevitable split and strive to sell Cardoso at the end of the current season, as it is unlikely that the Portuguese prospect will ever make it at the London Stadium like ExWHUemployee has suggested.
Cardoso still has age on his side, but West Ham have already moved on to a new prospect in Frederik Alves, who they signed in January for £1.5m and is already being touted for a first-team role under Moyes for next season.
Meanwhile, Cardoso fell to the bench at Basel after just six appearances having failed to help his temporary side to win a single game, and was shown two yellow cards over his four starts in the Swiss Super League.
Basel were also beaten 6-2 with Cardoso on the field by second-tier side FC Winterthur in the Swiss Cup, in a result that would hardly instil much confidence of the youngster developing into the Hammers’ future defensive rock.
Cardoso described his move to West Ham as a “dream come true”, but it has only proven to be a nightmare that has seen the Irons waste a total of £4.5m to date, having given him a £23,000-per-week contract on top of the £2.75m paid to Boavista.
If his loan spell with Basel does not pan out, West Ham will live to regret handing Cardoso such lucrative terms for a teenage prospect, and must work on securing a permanent exit as soon as possible.
AND in other news, West Ham are weighing up a £21.5m swoop for a “great” 10-goal striker…