Claret and Hugh fan voices verdict | West Ham’s most expensive signings

Following on from Claret and Hugh’s recent article exposing the £350 million blown in players in recent windows, several readers responded with their own well considered opinions as to the merit worthiness – or otherwise – of some hefty Hammers transfer fees spent in recent seasons.

Here we feature a fan’s reply with his own thoughts on the ‘top ten most expensive Hammers transfers’  and their merits

Guest post by “Peter whu” :

• Think it is fair Paqueta leave this Summer. I’m a fan of how so many times he has been battling away (picking up yellow cards) for the club in a dour midfield short on ability, technical skill and speed. Now with a good midfield he can play his game more. Sometimes he loses the ball too often, so would like it if he would play simple sometimes and help the flow of the ball through our midfield.
• Sad about Haller, such a good forward.
• Not sure about Kilman, he is not a blood & guts player, so perhaps he is better than he seems because he is so low-key but…
  I hope with consistent selection and a manager who knows how to organize a defence, that Todibo will come good – he is more than able to, now accustomed to the PL. Maybe Kilman is good, but like the idea of Dinos+Todibo. Igor looked very good in his brief cameo, like to see him play more.
  

  This Hammers fan has never been an Edson Alvarez admirer

• Alvarez. Never been a fan of his. Players just skip past him, so often late in the tackle, never dominated a single game in midfield, never suddenly popped up in the right spot because he could read a game better than others. I’m baffled
• A lot of the other players seemed to want out for a variety of reasons, including Aguerd, Fullkrug..
• It does show how inconsistent we are in recruitment and how the club get in a star players (by reputation), say Anderson, who was never going to perform at WHU. Paqueta and Fernandes on the other hand have talent and that bit of steel, willingness to fight for their club even in hard times.
• The talent in the Academy seems to be of a very high standard. They need loan periods, they need a chance to develop but when they come through all this as some have, boy are they good and they bring passion, eagerness and real ability. The club has done well in this, have to congratulate them (including the scouts!!!) and with astute recruitment they could save WHU from seasons of drudgery and under achievement.
• Recruitment of the quality of Fernanades, Magassa & Summerville is what we need and the staff to achieve this. Crucial time for the club I think and we may just have been fortunate to land on the right kind of manager in NES but can he then also be in charge of recruitment? I think too much to expect of one person and do not know if we still have the right people in place to find the next Fernandes, Paqueta, Magassa, Summerville…
• Whatever way you call it, bringing in youth, academy and talented players like Paqueta and Fernandes into the heart of the midfield is a great way to go and a bit of a sweet spot for a club like WHU, but in out recent past we take 1 massive step forward and 3 tottering steps backwards. I hope that stops and the club starts improving gradually and building up again, looking ahead over the next 5 seasons, that is the best way for WHU in my opinion.