Pablo Maia is ‘edging closer to a move to Fulham’ according to reports from the Brazilian press, who claim that West Ham United failed in an attempt to hijack the transfer.

The Whites have been locked in talks with São Paulo over the future of the promising 20 year-old midfielder since October, with the major sticking point being when the deal would go through. Brazilian daily sports paper Lance believes the negotiations are now well advanced over a proposed £8.5m transfer, which is why West Ham’s late interest has met with short shrift.

Maia, who has previous South American experience with Independente de Limeira and Portuguesa Santista, has made more 62 appearances for São Paulo, scoring twice, and his versatility has attracted interest from a number of European scouts. The youngster is most at home as a defensive midfielder, with Marco Silva seeing him as promising back up for first choice midfield pairing of Joao Palhinha and Harrison Reed, but Maia can also operate at centre back and in a more advanced midfield role.

São Paulo have recently rejected approaches from Tottenham as well as West Ham and are eager to sell their prized asset soon with his value due to drop towards the end of his current contract. The midfielder revealed in November that a move to Europe would be a dream – and that could become a reality sooner rather than later.