Brentford and West Ham are eyeing a January move for £20m-rated Lecce defender Tiago Gabriel, but the London rivals face stiff competition from Juventus for the in-demand youngster.
Gabriel only signed for Lecce in January for £1.5m but has been one of the standouts in Serie A this season.
The i Paper has been told that Brentford, West Ham and Juventus have all made contact with the 20-year-old’s representatives ahead of a proposed move.
More suitors are expected to join the race in the coming weeks.
Despite being so young, Gabriel has held down a starting spot at a top-flight team in Portugal and Italy, as well as Portugal’s Under-21s.
He is the type of defender – young, tall, physical, and duel-winning – that is not abundant across Europe right now, which is why his appeal is so great early in his career.
Lecce are understood to be keen to cash in, given the quick profit they can make on the young defender and could even be willing to accept a lower price for the right move.
The Serie A side have plenty of experience in operating in this way.
After paying a few hundred thousand for Patrick Dorgu in the summer of 2023, they sold the Danish defender to Manchester United for £30m just over 18 months later.
Gabriel fits the type of player Brentford have built their reputation on; plucking cheaper options from overseas before selling them on for even greater profit, after many successful years in the capital.
West Ham are also keen to improve their leaky backline.
Only Wolverhampton Wanderers have conceded more than Nuno Espirito Santos’s team in the Premier League this season, leaving the Hammers sitting perilously close to the drop zone.
Maximilian Kilman’s big-money move to the capital has not worked out thus far, with the former Wolves defender dropped from the starting XI against Liverpool at the weekend, while Konstantinos Mavropanos has had his fair share of injury problems this season.
Juventus are believed to be the frontrunners, having kept their eye on Gabriel since his arrival in Italy.
Further injury problems to first-choice centre-back Gleison Bremer could force them to enter the market.
Sources believe moves will be made now to keep the price down.
Given Gabriel’s rapid rise, should his form continue until the end of the campaign, an even higher fee could be sought.
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