West Ham United are closing in on a deal to sign Corinthians striker Yuri Alberto, the Evening Standard reports.
The Hammers technical director, Tim Steitden, is reportedly in Brazil as negotiations with Corinthians have intensified overnight, with both parties keen to wrap up a deal.
West Ham recently announced the signing of Ajax attacker Mohammed Kudus, who can feature in multiple forward positions, including central striker.
However, David Moyes wants another out-and-out centre-forward to support Michail Antonio, with Danny Ings failing to impress the Scottish manager.
Antonio has been in fine form for the Hammers this season. He drew blanks in their opening draw against Bournemouth but rippled the net in back-to-back wins against Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Jamaican was linked with an exit earlier this summer with Al-Ettifaq registering an interest, but he looks set to remain in London beyond this summer.
However, he could have even more competition for a starting berth if Steitden is successful in negotiations for Alberto, who can only boast a short stint in European football.
The Brazilian had a brief experience at Zenit St Petersburg last year but scored six times and provided a further four assists in 15 appearances for the Russian side before returning to his homeland.
Having sold Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta following a massively underwhelming debut campaign in the Premier League, West Ham are eager to make a centre-forward their fifth summer signing.
They have several other targets on their extensive shortlist, including Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri and Paris Saint-Germain’s Hugo Ekitike.
The Hammers have reportedly followed up their previous interest in En-Nesyri but are yet to table an official bid, while PSG want to use Ekitike as a makeweight in their pursuit of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani.
West Ham are increasingly likely to hand former midfielder Jesse Lingard a short-term contract, with the ex-Nottingham Forest man impressing in training.
Any deal for Lingard does not have to be completed before Friday’s deadline as he is a free agent, so they will likely make a final decision on his future after the transfer window.
