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West Ham reach last-minute agreement to sign Europa League Team of the Season star

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Published Sep 1, 2026, 4:42 PM GMT+1

Tom is a football journalist with over five years of experience, specialising in Premier League reporting, feature writing and transfer analysis, with particular expertise covering Liverpool and Everton.

His work has been featured in The Non-League Paper, Crawley Observer, Sussex Express and The Redmen TV, where he produced features, news and exclusive interviews across all levels of the game.

For Football FanCast, Tom has interviewed a number of respected figures from across football, including Ally McCoist, Philippe Senderos and Chris Waddle. Elsewhere, he has covered the National League South play-off final, Formula E's London E-Prix, Crawley Town and Brighton & Hove Albion's Under-21s.

Tom's expertise lies in analysing transfer developments, explaining what they mean for clubs and supporters, and producing in-depth features on the biggest stories in football. Through years of covering Liverpool and Everton, he has developed an extensive understanding of Merseyside football, both clubs' recruitment strategies and the issues that matter most to their supporters. He has also built strong relationships across the football industry that add valuable context to his reporting and analysis.

Tom also enjoys writing features on the broader challenges facing football, its clubs, players, governing bodies and, most importantly, supporters.

It's a huge transfer deadline day for West Ham United. Many were expecting the Hammers to walk through the Championship with ease, but that hasn't been the case so far and the pressure is now growing on Nuno Espirito Santo.

Alas, there's still time for things to change at the London Stadium. Having already welcomed the likes of Arne Engels and Joel Piroe, West Ham are now turning their focus towards a central defender.

That should come as no surprise, either. Nuno's side have conceded five goals in three games and sit as low as 19th. It's why Wout Faes emerged on their radar in the early hours, as the Leicester City man prepared to step into the Championship.

West Ham in the Championship

Burnley 2-2 West Ham
West Ham 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Watford 1-1 West Ham

All parties even reached a verbal agreement. All signs were pointing towards London for the central defender, before West Ham unexpectedly put the deal on hold. The move, as things stand, is unlikely to take place and the Hammers have turned towards other targets.

That is where Morato comes in. The Nottingham Forest defender looks destined to steal ahead of Faes and become the centre-back that Nuno has been seeking.

The West Ham boss has personally requested the Brazilian, according to reports, and that is why Faes has been left behind. Given that Nuno worked with Morato during his time at the City Ground, it's certainly a move that makes sense.

West Ham agree deal to sign Morato

As reported by ESPN and relayed by Sport Witness, West Ham have agreed a deal to sign Morato on loan from Nottingham Forest in a last-minute move. The Hammers will have an option to buy the Brazilian and have beaten the likes of AS Roma and AC Milan to his signature.

That should be job done for West Ham in terms of centre-backs and Nuno will hope that Morato is the man to fix his leaky backline. If his side are to turn their poor start around and head towards promotion, then ending a disappointing defensive record will be the key.

League stats per 90 25/26

Morato

Faes

Minutes	1,342	1,141
Tackles	2.01	1.18
Recoveries	3.55	3.08
Duel success	63.7%	55.1%
Pass accuracy	85.3%	93%

The numbers expose exactly why West Ham have picked Morato over Faes. The Leicester man failed to revive his career on loan at AS Monaco last season, making fewer recoveries and tackles than the Forest man and enduring a low duel success.

On paper, Faes would not have solved West Ham's problems. In all likelihood, he may have simply made the leak bigger and more alarming in that backline. Morato, however, looks like an ideal solution, having been awarded with a place in UEFA's team of the competition for his role in Forest's run to the Europa League semi-finals last season.

Whether the defender will be ready to face Derby County this weekend is the big question. First, West Ham have Wolves to think about this evening.

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