A top West Ham United source has admitted that the club performed poorly in the summer transfer window and must adopt a smarter approach in the upcoming January window.
As revealed on this website last week, Hammers’ director of football, Tim Steidten, will not have the final say on transfers. However, Claret and Hugh has learned that any manager or head coach will still have input on recruitment, though the ultimate decision will not rest with them either.
Speaking with Claret & Hugh this morning, a senior club source was asked whether current head coach Julen Lopetegui—or his potential successor—would have any influence in the upcoming transfer window. The London Stadium insider confirmed: “We’ll take input from both [manager & Steidten], but it’s not easy as money has been spent. We now need to spend smarter and explore better deals and options.”
The source continued: “I’m getting involved myself because I think we did so badly in the summer.”
As things stand, Julen Lopetegui continues to have input on transfers and suggested signings, but his job remains precarious. The head coach is unlikely to be given much more time if the team’s poor form persists.
The revelation creates an intriguing dynamic with director of football Tim Steidten, whose authority appears to have been significantly reduced. By all accounts, he will now act as a transfer advisor—a stark contrast to last summer, when he was given considerable freedom over recruitment. Unfortunately, the club appears to have been less than impressed with the outcomes of his recommendations.
Completely correct.
Pundits/Media and every mother’s son raved the incoming players.
Predictions were top six and even top four.
It was expressed that whu were going to be team to beat.
Perhaps amounted to pressure and to much anticipation.
Other clubs, Chelsea/Bournemouth/Forest/Villa have all been through this scenario with signing multiple players.
Its never a quick fix.
Whu were supposed to buy younger/quick players and were warned against older players with injury problems.
JLos playing tactics are not logical.
Moving players around/not playing in their most suited position and his subs have a scattergun approach.
January transfers any player will be in two minds with the uncertainty being emitted.
Duran scoring, yes, not sure about him seems a hot head who could cause problems on field/in dressing room.
Definitely need striker especially now Bowen is injured.
What sort of hair brain system is he going to conjure up.
More excuses_he needs to go. With luck we’ll get another pasting from Man City.
2025 is here and whu need help.
“The head coach is unlikely to be given much more time if the team’s poor form persists.” It has persisted from pre-season through today and he is still there, so what makes you think the clueless Basque is at risk? Nobody at West Ham has the guts to sack him, so if it is the only option, I hope they don’t win again until he is gone.
Up to the age of 25 WH had two managers in my lifetime: Ron Greenwood and John Lyall.
Now they are disposable.
Why, oh why, did the owners listen to idiot ‘fans’ who wanted rid of David Moyes?
The guy should be honoured and not reviled.
The fan base is eager to decry the owners (who saved the club from insolvency) – but they need to take real responsibility for the decision to not renew Moyes’ contract.
Idiots.
Football fans by and large are delusional and stupid, but to my embarrassment as a West Ham supporter for nearly 60 years, West Ham fans are more stupid than most.
Loyalty is everything.
Fcuk u Sullivan you cancerous paracstic vermin
Sullivan makes bad decisions! This club are a joke , needs sorting from Top- Down
You ate joking Tim has not made many errors , Füllkrug bad signing and Guilherme might come good to early to judge . I trust Tim more than Sullivan , days it all when he won’t sack Loppy . I don’t want Sullivan recruiting he has no clue FFS
Reading many of these comments are laughable. I don’t remember one fan not being happy with the transfer window in the summer when it closed. Indeed, most pundits were stating that ‘We’ had won the Transfer Window. The players we bought are quality players although we have certainly not seen that to date. Anyone who says otherwise just has the benefit of hindsight. I can only compare what we did with what Villa did under Stevie G. He bought many good players but they were shit under his leadership. Emery came in and with in the main the same group of players, got them to the Champions League. Ultimately, the manager is the problem albeit Sullivan will always be an issue and he should have gone five games ago.
Talking like that to you or Whetstone is a disgrace – he screwed up the window when he pulled out of the Duran deal to sign Summerville and leave us having to pay peanuts for a striker – and we know what that buys you.
This too source is a cancer for our club.
The current West Ham Way: an uninspiring manager, good players but an abject team, rubbish midfield and defence, unable to get a good no. 9 for love or money, disjointed play, lack of spirit and pride on the pitch, blowing bubbles in the air telling ourselves we are ready to compete with the best because we won one bloody trophy, uninspiring God forsaken stadium, loyal fans told to clear off or pay up, no football ideals, no integrity, no academy players integrated to the team with an eye on the future, … Hammer till I die, but I think it is going to be a death by a thousand cuts.
I’m taking over because we did so badly in the summer………. just remind me, who appointed J-Lo ? Classic throwing everybody under the bus, again!
Interesting that Steiden had free reign in the summer.
Most signings look bad. Moyes said he turned down most players offered to him by Steiden and Sullivan.
The result with no one to stop with football management knowledge of the premier league is a shambles.
Time to get people with premier league experience back in charge.
He never . You Moyes lovers know that as well. The dwarf couldn’t tell the truth if his life depended on it .
Exactly – why the geezer above buys this crap I don’t know – and while we are on the subject Moyes turned down Fofana and Alvarez (the ex City one) among others.
Good to see were not run like a circus anymore.
David Sullivan as Director of Football and Will Salthouse as Head of Recruitment. Absolute dream team. What could possibly go wrong?
Hope this also signals the return of the ‘WE TRIED’ article posted on the official site the day after the transfer window closes. I miss reading about how close we were to signing a plethora of world class players, only for some deeply unfortunate circumstance to arise preventing us from getting the deals over the line.
Respectfully Mister Kretinsky, the little idiot spiv on the opposite side of that big table is actively destroying Club policy (that you have spent precious time setting up) and ruining your investments. Please do something about it for all of us!
I think he’s already has triggered the buy out option. But cannot take over straight away. No doubt dwarfs going to spunk the budget on salthouse players as a parting shot .
Sullivan has made the biggest mistake of the summer window not finding the finance for Duran. If we had Duran as an option then possibly we would have performed much better as a team. To go through a major rebuilding of the team and put a new coach in place we surly must have had concerns for our form. As I understand it the coach was Sullivan’s choice as was Pelligrini in the past. Perhaps the coach being unemployed and no compensation to be paid tipped the balance,
Sullivan in charge means more budget players, but hopefully a move for Graham Potter may steady the ship
Classic Sullivan, more scattergun tactics, lack of coherence, I am not sure that Steidten is the problem and am fairly certain that with Potter in charge a lot of his transfers would be doing a lot better.
Was gutted at giving my ST up but now it looks more and more like the right decision, Sullivan is the biggest problem at the club, he will stick to his guns on not getting rid of underperforming managers but will sell players he has chosen at huge losses, the guy is clueless and a pox on our club.
Sack the board !!!
Ha ha ha,
Sully will take input. Sounds about right.
Problems solved.
This is absolute rubbish we spent badly Every single one of those players would thrive elsewhere The only chronic appalling decision made was by Sullivan appointing a truly poor choice of manager Fed up with this self opinionated board it’s about time they faced upto some home truths
Agreed
Absolutely mental. David Sullivan in charge of transfers. The same guy that has failed in signing nearly 50 strikers. The same guy that Allardyce said would just randomly sign players as ‘surprises’.
I’m done with this club until Sullivan goes. Season ticket not being renewed
This is a bit revisionist isn’t it? “Performed poorly”? Seems like not too long ago we were celebrating the arrival of Kilman, Summerville, Todibo and Guilherme…. at least three of them have valid complaints against Loppy, so to blame TS is a bit rich. Looks like biggest recruitment failure was the manager himself. COYI
Ta dah! Those are good players who surround a vacuous midfield. The manager was never a good EPL choice. Mr. Moyes with a bit of vanilla, my wife said.
Well said. It is revisionist. There were several good signings (from all accounts due to TS) in the summer but the window failed to address needs that were clear to us all: up front and in midfield. The unfocused, illogical approach to transfers is an old, longstanding, pre-TS problem. I remember David Moyes used to talk about players being ‘given’ to him (no doubt Scamacca, Haller etc). This culture is to some extent still there. I hope we get Potter (apparently Brady’s choice) or Carrick (wanted by Nobes). Would be great to see what either could do in tandem with Tim. Provided, of course, Sully lets the experts get on with it.
The worst decision in the Summer (other than appointing Lopetegui) was to be a skinflint and not spend a little extra on Duran.
Duran is worth more than we would have needed to pay for him now so being a tightwad didn’t pay off.
Worse not paying for Duran meant we could penny pinch on Fullkrug who is worth less than we paid for him now so that didn’t pay off either.
So the scraping the barrel didn’t pay off all round, and now the cheapskate who made the money blowing decisions wants final say on this windows dealings too as if yet more miserlyness is the answer.
The club is amateur and makes its own problems.
John, go back and read Monchi’s interview. Over 40 clubs were in for Duran apparently. They weren’t selling for 45 mil. Would likely taken closer to 60. And to think, there were many on here (although don’t think you were one) that didn’t think he was worth 30.
You’re overall point about the nonsensical approach to running this club is spot on though.
Monchi did that interview after Duran’s good start to the season and after the transfer window had closed. He was hardly going to say, “Yeah the player had one foot out of the door, but the West Ham owner tried to change the terms of the deal at the last minute so the move fell through.” Not sure that would have been the best comms to put out.
I do agree with you however on the point about those on here writing a player off as too expensive / risky only to then bemoan the fact we did not pay the money with hindsight after it turns out they’re actually decent.
Rubbish – AV fans were happy to see the back of him at the time and so was the manager – how many other clubs did he twerk for on Instagram? None! That instagram post showed how close the transfer was and another 5-7 m would have undoubtedly done it. Sullivan didn’t see the value and signed Summerville, leaving us with no option but to spend peanuts on a striker!
The more you look at this season. The more obvious it’s becomes . The players underachieving the most according to dwarf. Are steitdens signings. Kudus Alvarez fullkrug todibo and guilherme. mark my words kretinsky has triggered the buy out option and he’s bitter about it . Only players coming in January are salthouse players. Dosent matter if there any good it’s about draining next summers budget.
It gets worse . A manager not good enough, a Technical Director who has neve been able to do his job and has to try and make best of owners poor decisions. The club won’t prosper or progress until there is a. Change of ownership.
A change of ownership. Forget any rules about financial fair play. Get the Government to take over ownership. No problems with finance. Pay a band of Local Government Officers obscene amounts to follow the playbook. Rob the pensioners to pay for it all.
Prosperity and progression guaranteed. Get Reeves pulling her finger out.
What a joke this whole club is, we have an owner who is determined to prove he is a genius when it comes to transfers despite all the evidence proving he’s a bloody joke, the purchase of 50 failed strikers should prove that to anybody with half a brain. Why doesn’t he just go the whole hog and make himself manager as well as head of recruitment, chief negotiator and transfer guru supreme? Nobody should be under the illusion that he’s ever going to take his hand off the reins of power, he will oversee yet another window where his prefered agents are his most trusted sources. What a way to run a club!
And he wants the captain’s armband !
That egomaniac Sullivan has been looking for any excuse to sideline Steidten and get his sticky fingers back on the transfer strings again with his ‘favoured’ agents. It’s not like he’s even a TALENTED amateur when it comes to transfers. The biggest problem with Tim’s dealings has been Sullivan’s interference anyway. Need Kretinsky to put his foot down with other shareholders and veto Sullivan.