As shown by the signing of young Brazilian midfielder Luis Guilherme, whose arrival in East London was seen as quite the coup for the Hammers, it appears as though Hammers technical director Tim Steidten has access to some of the top young talents in South America. 

Signing Guilherme could certainly be an instance where the Hammers have unearthed a real gem and a talent with huge potential without having to fork out a large transfer fee.

In his various trips to Brazil, it seems as though Steidten has made various connections and formed some important relationships. South American news site Premier League Brasil have suggested that there is an assistant out in South America who has been providing the Hammers with a rundown on some of the emerging talents in the region.

The club are said to have hired former Brazilian international Naldo, who apparently has a positive relationship with Steidten, in an advisory role to seek out players and talent as well as to, if necessary, begin negotiations on the club’s behalf. The former Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and Schalke defender is said to have been hard at work coming up with suggestions of up and coming players who may interest the Hammers.

Naldo has been previously quoted as saying, referring to new West Ham signing Luis Guilherme: “Luis Guilherme has been outstanding for some time and has attracted interest from several clubs. I got in touch with the player’s manager, we started to draw up the negotiation and in the end it was good for both sides,” as was reported in Claret & Hugh.

With the club seemingly having set up an excellent scouting network in Brazil, this could almost definitely prove to be a very successful relationship moving forward. It would also go some way to explain why the club has been linked with a host of young talents from Brazil.