Déjà Vu As Spurs Threaten Another West Ham Hijack

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

I’ll let Claret & Hugh readers decide whether it’s Groundhog Day or football déjà vu, but the transfer chase for West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville seems to be taking a very familiar turn.

Because according to Sky Sports earlier today, the movers and shakers inside Old Trafford are now becoming concerned that those pesky North Londoners from Tottenham are about to hijack their move for the Dutch winger.

Manchester United had been reported as being in continuing negotiations with the Hammers hierarchy over the sale of Summerville and appeared to be leading the race for his signature.

Spurs Threaten To Repeat Fernandes Trick

But according to Sky, Spurs have now jumped into the mix in precisely the same way they did to secure the signing of Mateus Fernandes.

Manchester United are said to be concerned that they could once again be gazumped for one of their top targets, which begs the question: why are they not just paying West Ham’s asking price and signing the player?

The Red Devils appeared to take an eternity to even consider making a £70 million bid for Portuguese midfielder Fernandes when they were fully aware all along that his price tag was £85 million.

Big-spending Tottenham Hotspur, on the other hand, wasted little time in paying what West Ham considered to be the going rate and snatching Fernandes before Sir Jim Ratcliffe had even made a serious bid for the player.

Pay Up Or Move On

Yet now we have reports from Sky, with Manchester United seemingly concerned and complaining that Tottenham might repeat the same trick.

There’s a simple answer, of course.

Phone up West Ham, agree to pay the fee and sign the player.

Anything else is like complaining about missing out on an auction when you haven’t even turned up and made a bid.