West Ham agrees to sign Jonathan Calleri on season-long loan

To see a list of completed deals in the summer window thus far, visit theScore's Premier League transfer tracker.

Jonathan Calleri's next stop is the United Kingdom.

On Thursday, West Ham United confirmed that a deal is agreed upon for the Hammers to sign Calleri from Deportivo Maldonado on a season-long loan. A loan fee and personal terms have been settled, and the Argentinian forward is expected to arrive at London Stadium next week.

"We have agreed to sign Calleri," Slaven Bilic said. "Unfortunately for him, but good for us, Argentina were knocked out of the Olympics this week, so he should be here with us pretty soon, depending on the work permit. We did the deal a little while ago, and he is a top striker. You need a squad, of course, but it is all about the balance. I think we have a good balance."

According to Ed Aarons of the Guardian, Calleri sought the advice of Carlos Tevez before moving to England. The 23-year-old is roughly following Carlitos' path, as both players represented Boca Juniors before joining West Ham.

Of course, during his only season at West Ham, Tevez became a cult hero among the Hammers' supporters and saved the club from relegation, scoring at Manchester United on the final matchday of the 2006-07 Premier League season, ensuring Sheffield United was sent to the Championship. Due to third-party agreements concerning Tevez and Javier Mascherano, West Ham was fined £5.5 million, but to the fury of the Blades, wasn't deducted points and stayed in the top flight of English football.

Similarly, Calleri will be arriving at West Ham under the watch of a third party. Maldonado is a club that plays in the second division of Uruguayan football and averages attendances of about 200 supporters. As Bloomberg explains, the team operates by "trading elite South American players who never appear in a game," easing the tax burden on investors who own transfer rights.

Calleri was the top scorer in this year's Copa Libertadores, tallying nine goals as Sao Paulo reached the tournament's semi-finals. He was also called up to Argentina's squad for Rio 2016, where La Albiceleste was eliminated in the group stage on Wednesday by virtue of a 1-1 draw against Honduras.