West Ham missing out on Burnley’s CJ Egan-Riley wouldn’t be quite so bad—if the club hadn’t made his signing something of a transfer priority.
After all, the Burnley defender had done well enough during the Clarets’ promotion to the Premier League, but he was still a free transfer and yet to truly prove himself at the top level.
When set against the likes of £35m former Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo or £40m Max Kilman, it was clear the Hammers were fishing in a bigger defensive pond.
£25m centre-back Kurt Zouma has just been released by West Ham, and the club is currently looking to offload Nayef Aguerd for up to £30m.
In short, West Ham are a club that-recently at least-spends big on central defenders and pays top wages for international players.
That’s why it should have been straightforward to land someone like Egan-Riley, who we were informed was wanted by Graham Potter.
Twelve months ago, the player would have jumped at the chance to join the Hammers, but we’re now struggling to sign free transfers from the Championship.
The England Under-21 international is said to have preferred Roberto De Zerbi’s project at Marseille, which must feel like a real kick in the wotsits for West Ham’s recruitment team.
Transfer team learning on the job
As we’ve reported on countless occasions, Graham Potter has never been responsible for negotiating transfers—having served purely as a head coach at Swansea, Brighton, and Chelsea. His right-hand man, Kyle Macaulay, has been promoted from data analyst to head of recruitment and is still learning on the job.
Macaulay needs to nail his first transfer
How much either man had to do with the failure to sign Egan-Riley is unclear, but these are the sort of transfers that should be tap-ins for a club like West Ham.
The window reopens in three days, and the Hammers hierarchy will need to recruit someone sharpish. Because right now, West Ham look like a club with its best players for sale and its transfer targets turning them down.
So far, the club has made enquiries or offers for Samu Aghehowa Omorodion, Jonathan David, Angel Gomes, and Egan-Riley. There may be others, but at present, we’re being rejected far too often.
Yes, it’s still early in the transfer window—as many will no doubt point out—but perceptions matter in football. And right now, West Ham don’t look like a club on the rise.
Zero to report and yet you boys have pumped out 50 odd articles this week with not much to say.
Maybe have a day off and post when there is something genuine to report.
The doom and gloom on this site is quite incredible right now.
Perhaps Gonzo Martin and others at C & H should tell us what they actually do want – we know that they didn’t want Moyes they didn’t want Lopetegui they didn’t want Potter – they criticized Steidten over Fullkrug and Guillherme (and presumably Mavropanos) and don’t believe that Potter and MacCaulay are capable of buying any player
So it would be good to hear their vision for the Hammers
I know this is a bad news website but I refuse to feel bad about us not getting a player I’ve never heard of and didn’t particularly want. Come on who gives a stuff? Cheer up people.
Let’s all get it straight Sullivan on the whole is not liked by the majority of clubs he has dealt with continually not negotiating but really insulting low ball bids for players, so the clubs involved obviously don’t want to be messed about so turn to other suiters who are genuinely interested in a proper deal, now it’s got to a point where even championship clubs won’t entertain us, like all dictators time will catch up and it’s looking like now , he has no one to throw under the bus , fans have reached the end of their tether,he’s constant robbing peter to pay Paul is pretty much exhausted and him and the board lack of investment in the team shows once and for all what we all knew despite his crap He IS NOT A FAN
Bill, are you seriously suggesting that the club have not invested in the team? I suggest you go and do some research before your next post 😳.
Most fans will be fully aware that the problems lie with how the money has been spent rather than how much.
What a miserable post.
Seem to remember this tone every close season on here. You know as much as the rest of us.
You know few targets, you don’t know what the plan is.
Sullivan has always done the deals, he pays the bills, to think anything will change on that front is naive.
With the exception of Liverpool and Man U, very few teams have done any business.
For all the headlines, we haven’t sold anyone yet nor bought anyone.
The 8-9 players that have left, were bit part players and all well past their best and all earning a bucket load of cash, so it’s a big step forward just getting them off the books.
Judge the club when the window shuts.
Would anyone reading this go and work for the snidey lying little poison dwarf and the up herself Duchess?? I suspect not..unless unless unless the money is good. And therein lies the problem. If I was Bowen I’d be biding my time and waiting for an offer. Just to get away from the poisonous atmosphere that pervades us that reflects directly on the poisoned dwarf and the witch .
Relegation beckons and ill admit I’ll be a little bit glad if it pees them off and loses him money. It’s not my West Ham anymore
It’s not the snubs that bother me it’s the ones that agree to join us that’s got to be the biggest concern
Hmm… he was already a hot property who’d quite wisely run down his contract. So we wouldn’t have been getting him on the cheap whatever. Given Marseille are in next season’s Champions League and regularly get into the CL it seems a bit of a stretch to think signing him should have been a tap-in for West Ham
When you have an owner who declares we are skint and selling off our best players what kind of signal does that send to anyone who has ambition to do well in football.
Sadly this is going to be the story throughout the summer until panic sets in late on by then only the dregs with injury history will be around and beggars can’t be choosers.
Nope we are relegation fodder next season 100% nailed on and hopefully then Sullivan will sell up as he wont be making money in the Championship
After seeing how terrible we are and the incredibly dull brand of football we play, who would want to sign for us when they have options? Not many players, unless we offer much bigger wages. The players who just sign for a bigger pay day are generally the ones who lack commitment and cause unrest. Can see this being a constant issue in the upcoming window.