West Ham's £25m Brazilian wonderkid tipped to be "more impressive than Endrick"

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 14 June 2024

West Ham's £25m deal to sign Brazilian wonderkid Luis Guilherme is backed to be a "more impressive" signing than Real Madrid's mega-money move for fellow Palmeiras starlet Endrick.

West Ham United's move to purchase Palmeiras wonderkid Luis Guilherme has been tipped to be "more impressive" than the €72m (£60.9m) deal that will take Endrick from the Sao Paulo giants to Real Madrid.

The Hammers spent more than £25m to make the 18-year-old Julen Lopetegui's first signing as manager, with the Brazilian starlet putting pen to paper on a five-year contract at the London Stadium.

Guilherme is the latest in a growing line of Palmeiras youth products to be shipped off to Europe, most famously following in the footsteps of the highly-rated Endrick, who will officially join Real Madrid when he turns 18 in July, having agreed a deal with Los Blancos back in December 2022.

However, despite Endrick shooting to worldwide recognition with his move to Real Madrid and subsequent breakthrough as a full international, Brazilian football expert and Palmeiras specialist Diego Iwata Lima believes that West Ham's deal for Guilherme could outshine the more high-profile Endrick switch.

"It's commercially much smaller, but Luis's deal is, in a way, more impressive than Endrick's," Iwata said.

"This will cost Real Madrid around €80m (£67.7m) total by the end of the transaction. Although the transfer value is €20m (£16.9m) below the player's release clause, the transaction is viewed favourably by Palmeiras.

"Guilherme has had a much less flashy and rapid rise than his teammate [Endrick], with whom he's been a companion since the Under-11s."

Palmeiras' Luis Guilherme during the warm up before the match on May 15, 2024 © Reuters

Luis Guilherme: Unfinished business at Palmeiras

Eighteen-year-old Luis, whose arrival was confirmed by the Hammers on Thursday, has registered one goal and one assist in 45 matches for Palmeiras' senior team since signing professional terms in June 2022.

The midfielder has been a standout for Abel Ferreira's side, and was a Brazilian Serie A champion in 2023, although Palmeiras may feel that they never truly saw the best of a promising player who was regularly played out of position.

"He's had very few opportunities to play in the position [as a natural midfielder] where he made his name at youth level," Iwata Lima continued.

"Luis leaves with the feeling that he played less than he should have done. Of 45 appearances, he's played only three at the base of midfield, where he shines a lot.

"It was never clear why Luis went to play on the wing, and not in midfield, under [head coach] Ferreira. With Guilherme, there will be the eternal feeling that the fans were prevented from seeing a talent dubbed 'outstanding' since 2016, when he arrived at the club."

In 2023, The Guardian named Guilherme as one of the best players born in 2006 in world football, with the teenager celebrated in the article alongside Endrick, and another Palmeiras prodigy, central defender Vitor Reis.