West Ham United have done ‘very, very good business’ in signing hugely promising Portuguese defender Gonçalo Cardoso.
That is the informed opinion of respected Portuguese football expert Aaron Barton, whose website Próxima Jornada provides insight, opinion and features on the Iberian country’s football, in English.
Barton believes the transfer of the 18-year-old centre-back Cardoso from Boavista will prove to be a shrewd move by the Hammers.
“Cardoso had his first taste of senior football in the 2018/19 season, making his debut for Boavista in October where he played 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Aves,” Barton began. “Since then he went on to play another 14 games for Boavista, completing 90 minutes on all but one occasion.
“His relative inexperience at senior level will mean that he will not be thrown directly into the deep end by West Ham, and for the meantime will provide cover at centre-back, but will be slowly integrated into the first-team setup.
“The length of his contract – an initial five years with an additional year if triggered – is a marker of the faith West Ham have in the player and his potential development.”
What West Ham have purchased is a player who is far from the finished article but a hungry, ambitious player with a very high ceiling and it represents very, very good business
Aaron Barton
While most West Ham supporters will have seen precious little of Cardoso in action for Boavista, or the Portugal U19 side, Barton has witnessed the teenager’s talents first-hand and been suitably impressed.
“A confident, capable central defender, Cardoso will more often than not attempt to play out of defence, searching for the right ball to move his team up the pitch as opposed to simply ‘getting rid’,” he observed.
“Standing at just over 6 foot 2, he has a physical presence at the back, something that will benefit him greatly playing in the Premier League, a faster paced and more physical league to what he is accustomed to.
“He is an aggressive defender, which can sometimes lead to him giving away cheap fouls although this is something that will be ironed out as he matures and develops. A key asset is his pace, especially for a central defender, he can get through the gears pretty quick and this helps him with making recovery runs and covering the back-line.
“Cardoso was particularly impressive in the recent European Championship finals for the Portugal U19 side. He played 90 minutes in every single match, keeping a clean sheet in three out of the five games he played.”
In conclusion, Barton believes West Ham have pulled off something of a coup by snapping up Cardoso ahead of European football’s biggest clubs.
He wrote: “What West Ham have purchased is a player who is far from the finished article but a hungry, ambitious player with a very high ceiling and it represents very, very good business.”
*Follow @ProximaJornada1 for all things Portuguese football, in English.