West Ham transfer news: Why Luis Guilherme's Sporting move helps his development but leaves his former club with nothing

Luis Guilherme, formerly of Palmeiras, is close to a change of scenery to finally gain minutes on the pitch in European football. On the first day of 2026, Sporting CP reached an agreement with West Ham United and secured the signing of the 19-year-old winger.

According to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, the Lisbon club will pay a fixed fee of €17m (£14.2m) for Luis Guilherme. The contract includes performance-related add-ons that could increase the total to €20m (£16.7m).

West Ham, meanwhile, invested £21.3m in signing the youngster from Palmeiras in July 2024. However, this does not mean the English club will make a loss. The contract stipulated that the Hammers have a sell-on clause entitling them to a percentage of any future sale profit.

Transfer could be excellent for Luis Guilherme

Leaving the Premier League to play in the Primeira Liga could be seen as a "step backwards" for Luis Guilherme. But the truth is that the transfer presents an excellent scenario for the continuation of his career.

The 19-year-old winger has barely played since arriving at West Ham a year and a half ago. He has made just 18 appearances for the club, five of which came in the 2025-26 season.

In Portugal, this scenario changes. The expectation is that Guilherme will arrive to be an immediate starter at Sporting. But even if the starting role does not materialise straight away, the youngster will receive far more minutes in the Portuguese league.

And this is exactly what he and his representatives are seeking with this market move. The winger will play for a leading team in the domestic league that also competes in the Champions League. An ideal scenario for him to achieve the development expected since his days at Palmeiras.

Winger arrives to address Sporting shortage

Luis Guilherme should receive immediate minutes at Sporting because he arrives to address a squad shortage. Currently, the Lions have three injuries to wide attackers: Pedro Goncalves and Geovany Quenda are sidelined, and Geny Catamo has departed to Mozambique for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Additionally, the club is also betting on the youngster's future, especially as Quenda is only on loan from Chelsea until the end of this season. Sporting believe Luis Guilherme can establish himself as a first-choice starter and also provide financial returns through a future sale.

Working in the youngster's favour is the fact that he can play on both flanks. Luis Guilherme is left-footed and prefers to play on the right with his foot inverted. However, he can also operate wide on the left.

Why deal is terrible for Palmeiras

If the negotiation could be positive for all parties involved, the same cannot be said for Palmeiras. The Brazilian club also has an indirect connection to the transfer and had been monitoring Luis Guilherme's movements closely.

The reason for this is that when agreeing the sale of the youngster to West Ham, Palmeiras secured an agreement giving them rights to 20% of any profit from a future sale of the winger. In other words, Palmeiras would receive a slice of the English club's profit from Luis Guilherme.

However, the player is leaving the Hammers for a fee below the £21.3m paid in July 2024. Put simply, there is no profit, and Palmeiras will not receive a penny from this new transfer.

This article was originally published on Trivela.