Reports suggesting West Ham are closing in on a ‘Maximilian Kilman upgrade’ from Portugal appear to be wishful thinking. Sadly.

Whilst the ‘Charlie Cresswell‘ stories continue today, there’s no building of  momentum suggesting further progress or indeed, any report of a formal West Ham bid: In any case, could you really blame the young man for backing away from a move to London Stadium after that embarrassing performance  displayed by the Hammers at Molineux yesterday?

However, just this afternoon, reports have circulated claiming West Ham may have already bid for their Max Kilman upgrade, Lecce’s serie A  centre-back Tiago Gabriel.

A closer inspection, regrettably, reveals the actual state of  play, as explained by today’s Ojogo.pt:

“Tiago Gabriel is closely followed [ wanted ] by Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Neom SC, from Saudi Arabia. The 20-year-old Lecce central defender should only leave for about 25 million euros. West Ham tried to hire in recent weeks, but have taken a refusal. They offered 18 million euros.“

So, again, don’t hold your breath over that one.

West Ham are about 7 million short of the required price and in any case are up against some of Europe’s...