West Ham Transfer update: Who is Gustavo Cuéllar?

West Ham being linked to an otherwise unknown South American player? It must be the summer transfer window! As is tradition, West Ham have been linked to Flamengo central midfielder Gustavo Cuéllar for a whopping fee. Here’s what you need to know.

The need is there. West Ham are all but certainly cutting ties with Pedro Obiang this offseason, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Carlos Sanchez’s try out to stay on the team falls through. With possibly 2+ players gone from central midfield, West Ham will need an ace to fill the void.

So, who is Gustavo Cuéllar? His nickname is the Pitbull, which oddly makes me even more enticed by his connection to West Ham. Upon blindly looking at his stat sheet, however, it’s clear he is not going to impact the game offensively much, if at all. With just two assists last season (28 games) and none so far this year, Cuéllar’s efforts show elsewhere on the pitch.

Rather the Pitbull is a defensive minded holding midfielder who brings a bit of violence and tenacity to his tackling, as his nickname suggests.

When initially seeing the link I wasn’t too enthused and honestly didn’t believe that it was true. Last season ExWHUemployee created a fake rumor linking Paraguayan striker Angel Romero to the Hammers; Cuéllar’s link feels like shades of this move, so my hopes weren’t too high.

Why I’ve since rebounded and flip-flopped on my initial reaction is because of who is running this team – Manuel Pellegrini and Mario Husillos. The manager/director duo is believed to have the final say on transfers for the team, with input still coming from the board. If this link is from Pellegrini and/or Husillios then I’m all in on it.

It’s clear that the Chilean manager and Argentinian director have strong scouting networks in South America, turning up a £4m talent like Fabian Balbuena from the blue. Why should we be so turned off on a midfielder coming over from Bazil’s Serie A, just like the General?

For me, the stumbling block is the rumored fee over £20m. That is a very high fee and a very large chunk of cash for a player who has never played in this league before. It could be seen as an investment, as Cuéllar is just 26 years old, though.

Regardless of the rumors, should West Ham sign Cuéllar I’ll reserve my judgment until at least September of this season. Anderson, Diop, Balbuena all looked shaky to start the year in a new league, so time will be needed. Also, Ceballos has been linked heavily with a West Ham move so Cuéllar could be a contingency plan.