West Ham and Crystal Palace are ‘locked’ – according to a report this afternoon- in an attempt to sign an International-level centre back who has been away from his club on a season long loan and who might, in fact, be a whole load of trouble waiting to happen.
Whilst Potter and Macaulay seek to improve the Hammers’ squad without breaking the bank, West Ham are only too well aware of the dangers of buying players with injury problems.
The Kurt Zouma experience should still be fresh in the memories of whoever signed off his medical certificate.
So reports today of West Ham and Palace’s interest in Tiago Djalo, Juventus’s loaned-out Portuguese centre back who has spent the season at FC Porto and only started eight league games – need to be put in context.
A very good defender, no doubt. But Juve are no mugs and if they have ‘no plans got keep him’ -as reported by sportwitness.co.uk, – perhaps the alarm bells should start ringing.
Apparently the ex- Lille player is ‘keen on moving to the Premier League’ but interested buyers need to beware: 300 days lost with an ACL injury is not a good sign – no wonder Juventus aren’t planning to keep him.
Perhaps one race West Ham should not be fussed unduly about losing.
I thought Kurt Zouma did well for us. Cat-kicking excepted.
Sorry, but is this a sponsored article on the player..?
I know it’s obviously a pretty negative article in the first place so that might sound slightly odd but the fact there’s words like “need to be put into context” written with both “an international-level centre back” and “a very good defender, no doubt” too.
So for those unaware and to save you the “Who?” Google, let’s look at the context…
Capped once (could argue twice- his first and last cap) by Portugal. He made that debut replacing a fellow debutant for the last 25mins in the final Nations League game in a group Portugal had already secured first place in. Hasn’t been involved since.
Yeah, it mentions the “300 days lost with an ACL injury” but that’s honestly the only injury he’s ever really had. He returned from that and had a further month in training to work on fitness and, since then, hasn’t had a single injury. And, having returned, passed his medical at Juve to sign from Lille.
But Juve only paid a whopping £3m to sign him (possibly rising to £5m) and apparently beat Inter to his signing. That sounds impressive, but also sounds more like Man City declaring interest in Alexis Sanchez to get Man Utd to stump up £500k a week…
He’s played one game for Juve where he got the same time as he did in his international debut , appearing as a substitute. Then he was loaned to Porto for the season.
That’s where the context comes into it and makes this appear like a paid ad by the player’s part to generate interest…
He only played 8 times due to, by all reports, “off-field/disciplinary issues” which aren’t alluded to in the article so suddenly Lille being happy to take a paltry fee, his lack of subsequent involvement with the national side and Juventus and Juve being keen to see the back of him is the “context” which seems important.
Not his injury history which, for a 25 year old, is actually pretty decent.
love the one to lose headline as thats all we have done so far.Nothing happening apart from Cummings from Celtic.The more i see of Sullivan the more i think of the emperor Nero who fiddled whilst Rome burnt.
It won’t happen so don’t worry.
It’s more pie in the sky bull shi#e anyway..
Also don’t forget we’ve got no money to go shopping anyway.
Mickey Mouse embarrassing club these days, gone are the West Ham of old and it’s a place a shell of the club we were.
Sullivan out
I am beginning to think Potter is a fraud, backroom staff kept him afloat at Brighton and then sunk at Chelsea. Basically just what we don’t want. Need a younger more ambitious manager.