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“Good Feet for a Big Fella” | West Ham Chase 6ft 6in Midfielder

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West Ham linked with giant midfielder transfer bid

“The next Patrick Vieira” or “he’s got good feet for a big fella” are two phrases often wheeled out whenever a tall midfielder shows a bit of dexterity with the ball.

And that’s certainly the case with West Ham’s latest target, Amir Richardson, who is reportedly the subject of an £8.5m bid for Fiorentina’s 23 year old.

I can’t claim to have known too much about the player until recently, but a quick look revealed someone very comfortable on the ball, with a bit of a magic wand of a left foot.

Certainly, nothing I saw suggested a player worth so little, and the more one scratches beneath the surface, the clearer it becomes that Richardson was probably destined to be a very good sportsman.

A mobile, press-resistant, left-footed midfielder standing at 6’6” with excellent technical ability and close control, Richardson’s highlight reel looks impressive… though don’t they all?

Richardson came through the Nice youth system as before joining Le Havre as a 17-year-old, where he went on to sign his first professional contract.

The son of NBA All-Star Michael “Sugar” Ray Richardson and Ilham Ngadi—who also played basketball—it’s hardly surprising Amir is so tall. But with that pedigree, it was likely he’d excel at sport, and so it seems.

Whether West Ham will manage to pull off this particular deal, I honestly couldn’t say. After all, the Hammers are doing a poor job of signing anyone this window—even the ones they’re giving for free.

That said, if the Hammers can get this one over the line, it’ll add a very different dynamic to the midfield. And if opposition teams are expecting a Tomas Soucek-style battering ram, they could be in for a shock.

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Kris Gonzo (commonly known to the West Ham community as Gonzo) is the co-founder of Hammers Chat (established 2014) and the lead video content creator and columnist for Claret and Hugh.

With over a decade of professional sports media experience, he is a frequent West Ham United analyst and contributor for Sky Sports News, BBC Football Focus, and BBC Radio 5 Live. He previously served as an official video and content creator for West Ham United FC during the club's tenure at Upton Park and featured in the official documentary commemorating the historic final game at the Boleyn Ground.

A lifelong Hammer since the legendary 10-0 victory over Bury, when he isn't providing daily match analysis on the Hammers Chat YouTube Channel or broadcasting on X (@GONZObignose), he can be found walking his dog and restoring classic pinball machines.

6 comments

  • Bib says:

    Going by the click bait stories so far we are interested in about 2 billion pounds of players.and also scratching around the free transfer market..usual west ham stories .and by the way we’ve bought tordibo last season amongst our 155 million spent and also 32 million this season no wonder we’re skint..

  • Kenny Irons says:

    Let’s just hope we sign players who are actually going to improve us.
    We’ll see….

  • Geoff says:

    Before we slag off our transfer business or lack of it let’s take a look at all the other teams in the premier league. We have spent £36m on Todibo. Hand the teams in the premier league haven’t signed a single player. Some of the top teams have bought a player or two but they will be playing champions league or club World Cup. Let’s have some perspective. Window will be open until September. The impatience happens every year but we always end up signing loads of players later in the window. I don’t see it being any different this time around.

    • Molder says:

      At someone talking sense

    • B says:

      Good point Geoff, the impatience is baffling.
      There’s a long way to go before the window closes and the players haven’t even returned from the break.
      But then again, some of the ‘posters’ on here, don’t seem too interested in considered, informed perspectives.
      Preferring to take every article as an opportunity to attack the club, particularly the owners.

    • Jeeps says:

      Yea, on the eleventh hour with only 10% chance of signing them.

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