Blogs

Big name signing could cause upset

|

Manuel Pellegrini’s interview in Chile with Emol seems to hint that he wants the West Ham owners to bring in one big name this summer like he did at Malaga when he landed Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

If the reports are to be believed that big name could well be Javier Pastore from PSG,  the 28-year-old attacking midfielder scored 4 goals from 34 appearances last season. Pastore has one year on his contract and PSG are said to be prepared to let him go for a mere £17m.

The transfer fee on its own is not the problem, he reportedly wants his current wages matched at £190,000 per week and that is where the major stumbling block could come.

For a three year contract at £190,000 per week he would cost almost £10m per year and with the initial £17m transfer fee the total investment could reach £47m over three years. It is probably fair to say Pastore has his best years behind otherwise why would PSG be letting him go, his injury record is also a concern. We wouldn’t want to end up with another Andy Carroll but on twice the money!.

The other challenge would be breaking the wage cap. Paying Pastore £190,000 per week would make a lot of current players unhappy and cause their agents to demand parity or renegotiate better terms.  To be fair, this is the one thing Spurs gets right with their strict wage cap.

I am also not sure what enormous wages like these would do for Financial Fair Play wage cap which is still in existence. Personally, I am just not convinced smashing the wage cap is the right thing to do, it is a slippery slope from there on.

Share this article

I am Season Ticket Holder in West stand lower at the London Stadium and before that, I used to stand in the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower Row R seat 159 in the Boleyn Ground and in the Eighties I stood on the terraces of the old South Bank. I am a presenter on the West Ham Podcast called MooreThanJustaPodcast.co.uk. A Blogger on WestHamTillIdie.com a member of the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board (SAB), Founder of a Youtube channel called Mr West Ham Football at http://www.youtube.com/MrWestHamFootball,

I am also the associate editor here at Claret and Hugh.

Life Long singer of bubbles! Come on you Irons!

Follow me at @Westhamfootball on twitter

0 comments

  • colejamesuk123 says:

    I agree. 190k is too much. It could have a very negative affect on the squard.

    I agree we need one big signing, but I believe that can be don’t with a more reasonable wage.

  • EastStandJack says:

    I’m sorry I disagree with what you’ve said, he arguably plays for one of the biggest teams in Europe and plays regular champions league football to attract that sort of player it’s going to cost big money. They want to sell him due to financial fair play, in that position they have Veratti who is unreal and Rabiot who’s a young French talent so they obviously want to keep hold of him but I wouldn’t dismiss a player of his quality at West Ham. Hernandez is on 140k and sits on the bench each week. Ok 190k might be a bit excessive but wasn’t this the point of moving? To attract better players who are going to command a good wage? I really do feel that some fans want us to compete but then want us to keep the same old players each season. It’s like Collins for example I love the geezer gave his all for the shirt and deserved a testimonial but I agree with the board he shouldn’t of got another contract we need to move on. At the end of the day for me if Sullivan and that backed the manager and got some good players in I couldn’t care less what they’re on it doesn’t come out of my pocket and if it upsets other players maybe they’ll start playing a bit better to get an improved contract.

    • Harry Kane is Spurs highest earner at £110,00 per week and for a long time they had a wage cap of £70,000 per week.

      Until recently Carroll was our highest earner on £85,000 per week, then came Arnie £100,000 per week, Hart £125,000 per week and Hernandez £140,000 per week

      Where does it all stop?

      • EastStandJack says:

        Arnie was a record signing so would command a decent wage. Hernandez and Hart both have titles sadly its what you have to pay for these types of players. And yes I believe Harry Kane is an exception, Spurs are lucky he comes from the academy and their model was built correctly under Levy but Kane also hasn’t won anything and if the same happens next year will he be on 100k a week at Spurs I highly doubt it, i imagine the Manchester clubs will come sniffing around or even Madrid he was valued the other day by some sports index at 201 million so he’d be on about 250-300k a week if he moved to a top club.

    • colejamesuk123 says:

      Hernandez basic wage is 80k, it only leads to 140k if certain goals our set.

      i imagine we could get Felipe Anderson for a much more reasonable wage demand, considering he is only on about 40k now. although there would be a big fee to sign him which i’m not against for the right player, which i think he is.

      190k a week for a player who hasn’t managed 90 minutes all season is not smart move. IMO.

  • cas_blue says:

    4 goals in 34 games? Prolific……

  • spyintheskyuk says:

    Whatever the merits of Pastore clearly Sean hasn’t noticed (just like the owners ‘coincidentally’ enough) that we have been on various slippery slopes for some time. To compare us with Spurs is pointless they are a far higher achieving club, higher profile and in the Champions League, almost any player would go play for them on considerably lower wages than us, its a simple fact of football life. Equally even with that fact in mind there is currently considerable debate as to how long they can hold out before more (most even) players jump ship a year at the new stadium is the major pull at the moment I suspect, thereafter who knows.

    So lets be rational for a change, to get higher quality players we will therefore quite logically have to pay over the odds in one way or another all other things being equal, so it isn’t a matter of arguing over the principle (its already set in stone) its a matter of doing so only for the right player and to what extent you raise your bar to get him, and its one West Ham have already done in the case of Hart (ludicrously by the way) and Hernández and indeed at the time Carroll, not one of whom has actually been pulling up trees so as I say what principle?.

    Clearly Pellegrini as I feared (and only half believing it when discussing it last week) has been brought in on a different club tact to placate the fans (your friend Sully sure loves a variation on a theme) and having done so conveniently around renewal time he is now intent on drawing back on the real or implied promises that he made to our new Manager thinking that he, like all the others would just cave in and bight the bullet for a while, having been tied down to a contract. That is once again totally delusional from Sully the fantasist, this man is no ones patsy and is at an age, and with a reputation that toeing the line to a totally discredited club owner no one seriously believes (certainly not in the media and analysts) will be the thing that damages him, certainly not fighting it out with the owners (sully). Just look towards Newcastle for inspiration on that one. As per usual our glorious overlord has worked out how to get through the next month with little to no consideration as to how he is going to get through the next 6, let alone the next year or 3. Its like watching the last years of Tsar Nicholas II. Brady certainly plays the Rasputin role to perfection.

Comments are closed.