West Ham have made a formal loan offer to bring Benfica striker Arthur Cabral to London Stadium, as per UOL.
The Brazilian joined the Portuguese giants in August 2023 from Fiorentina, just a few months after losing to the Hammers in the Europa Conference League final, in which he was a half-time substitute.
Since then, the 26-year-old has scored 16 goals and registered four assists in 63 appearances.
This season, though, he has found playing time hard to come by under new boss Bruno Lage, which has opened the door for a potential exit this winter.
UOL are reporting that both the Hammers and Serie A side Torino have approached Benfica with loan offers and are also willing to include purchase options, but it’s believed Benfica are only willing to listen to permanent offers for the striker this month.
Cabral originally made his name FC Basel, where he recorded 65 goals and 17 assists in 106 appearances for the Swiss club between 2019 and 2022.
In Italy, he managed 19 goals in 64 appearances but struggled to replicate the form that earned him a move from Switzerland, with almost half of his goals coming in the Conference League, before a €20m switch to Benfica 18-months ago.
The striker has previously been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Leeds United and while neither move materialised it appears the promise he originally showed at FC Basel has not translated into continued success at other clubs.
That said, his goalscoring record has not exactly been terrible, and it is somewhat encouraging that he’s managed to score goals in three different European leagues, as well as all three major European competitions.
That suggests he has it in him to adapt to the different styles and pace of the game.
West Ham are in desperate need of a striker and it would appear a player like Cabral would be a sensible option to bring in this month and help deputise for the injured Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen.
