'Very special': West Ham and Everton target wins Golden Boot as Ronaldo praises 31-goal star

What a week this has been for a striker on the radar of Premier League trio West Ham, Newcastle United and Everton.

One day you are being handed the Golden Boot. The next, none other than the legendary Ronaldo is singing your praises.

For any centre-forward to be praised by the Brazilian icon must feel like a budding young thespian being singled out as one to watch by Sir Ian McKellan himself.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, is one of those whom Yuri Alberto outstripped en route to scoring 31 goals across the 2024 Brazilian campaign.

The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan superstar netted 23 times for the Timao in the 2009 season. One of the most prolific years enjoyed by any Corinthians player this side of the Millenium.

But West Ham, Newcastle and Everton like Yuri Alberto, TBR understands. Nottingham Forest and Brentford are also among the 23-year-old’s admirers.

So, for Corinthians, the challenge now turns to retaining the services of their free-scoring talisman.

West Ham and Newcastle target Yuri Alberto wins Golden Boot

Yuri Alberto secured the Brazilian’s league’s Golden Boot with another strike on the final day of the season this month.

Furthermore, breaking the 30-goal barrier for the first time since Carlos Tevez’s spell at the Neo Quimica Arena, no player scored more than him anywhere in the country across all competitions.

And Ronaldo is delighted to see Yuri Alberto silence his critics, more than doubling his tally from 2023 despite playing fewer matches.

“A striker who, despite much criticism, played very well was Yuri Alberto,” the World Cup winner says. “He stepped up when Corinthians needed him most and helped the team with many goals.”

Corinthians appeared very much in danger of a historic relegation until Yuri Alberto grabbed this underperforming team by the scruff of their neck back in September. He scored in nine successive league matches between then and the end of the season – scoring 11 goals in total – while almost single-handedly dragging Corinthians to a very respectable seventh place finish.

With the likes of Everton looking to pull clear of the bottom three themselves, Sean Dyche could certainly do with a centre-forward like Yuri Alberto at his disposal.

“It was a very special moment [to win the Golden Boot],” Alberto smiles, via Terra. “Winning this award makes the season even more special.

“It was a season of maturing and learning. But thank God, with the support of my family and God, I was able to recover and finish as the top scorer in the Brazilian Championship.”

Brazil international Yuri Alberto admits Premier League ‘dream’

Reports have indicated that Corinthians value their star man at around £17 million.

And while president Augusto Melo insists Yuri Alberto is going nowhere in the January transfer window, the player himself did admit that a move to the Premier League is his ‘dream’.

Yuri Alberto appears torn about joining West Ham, Newcastle or another of his suitors, however. Such is his connection to Corinthians, he must decide whether to listen to his heart or his head.

Alberto rated his chances of a winter exit as ’50/50′ in an interview last week.

TBR understands that Alberto is not the only striker on The Hammers’ wishlist, meanwhile. West Ham like Brighton frontman Evan Ferguson too, while former Bayer Leverkusen director Tim Steidten could use his Bundesliga connections to lure Mainz’s Jonathan Burkhardt to the London Stadium.