Moyes eyeing West Ham swoop for 21 y/o gem with “huge potential”, imagine him & Bowen - opinion

West Ham United are believed to be interested in a deal for Zenit St. Petersburg striker Yuri Alberto, according to reports in Brazil.

As per UOL Esporte, the 21-year-old is of interest to the Hammers this summer, albeit with the club set to have to vie with Corinthians in the race for his signature.

The report suggests that the Brazilian gem is keen to depart his current side this summer, despite having only joined the Russian outfit back in January, due to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The belief is that Corinthians are firm favourites at present, although the club are said to be in a ‘rush’ to get a deal done, as David Moyes and co are firmly in the mix.

Although Alberto may be an unknown quantity to most, he has seemingly been tipped for greatness for a number of years, with fellow Premier League sides Arsenal and Manchester United having reportedly been tracking the then 16-year-old wonderkid back in 2017.

While no such move came to fruition, the £14.4m-rated gem has flourished since both in South America and in Europe, notably netting 30 goals and providing five assists in 85 games in all competitions for Internacional, before adding a further six goals and four assists in just 15 games for current side, Zenit.

That impressive record would seemingly indicate a player of “huge potential” – as described by former teammate Edinilson – with the 6-foot menace no doubt a player that Moyes would be able to develop and nurture over the coming years.

A new striker addition is undoubtedly on the agenda due to the lack of centre-forward depth beyond Michail Antonio, with the Hammers’ reported interest in Chelsea youngster Armando Broja yet to bear fruit.

In Alberto then, the London Stadium outfit could well have