West Ham sign Portugal youngster Xande Silva from Vitoria de Guimaraes

As West Ham United see the departure of Cheikhou Kouyate, another summer arrival comes into the club on Thursday with the signing of Portuguese youngster Xande Silva.

The club announced the signing of the 21-year-old Xande Silva from Vitoria de Guimaraes, becoming the 8th new player to come into the Hammers in the burgeoning Manuel Pellegrini and Mario Husillos era.

Silva didn’t score many goals in his three seasons in Liga NOS (Portuguese League) as a pro, as he only scored once despite being a forward. That’s not good.

And he isn’t coming from his country’s big three or four big clubs (if you put Braga’s emergence with the traditional big three of Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Porto). But he still caught the eye enough for Pellegrini and Husillos to secure his services and be at such a prominent club. Silva’s excitement at this move, which was certainly under the radar, was evident.

“It’s a big dream of mine to play here in England,” he said. “This is a club with a big history, with very good fans and I’m very excited to be here.”

And it appears West Ham are far from down dangling in on Liga Nos based players, with the club expected to secure the signings of Porto stars Moussa Marega and Yacine Brahimi and promising Benfica teen Joao Felix.

The Hammers could end the summer with more than ten new signings for the summer, which would be a staggering amount even for a promoted side, let alone a side that retain Premier League safety in West Ham. And all these Portuguese inspired moves could see Domingos Quina staying with the club.