News

Hammers Set for £17M Loss as Struggles Continue

|
Image for Hammers Set for £17M Loss as Struggles Continue

Maxwel Cornet – remember him? In the summer Southampton signed the Ivory Coast international on a season long loan. He has featured four times for the Saints in the league, along with two EFL Cup appearances, last appearing against Stoke City on the 29th October.His came on as a substitute in this game during the first half to replace Ryan Fraser but didn’t register any attempts on goal. However late on in the second half he was involved in the match winning goal for the Saints.

The left winger is contracted to West Ham until June 2027. Signed by David Moyes in August 2022 for a fee in the region of £17m much was expected of the player, who had caught the eye at his previous club Burnley. He can play as a wing back, winger or striker so offered the Hammers a number of options.

Cornet was struck down by a number of injuries which plagued his time at the London stadium, and was eventually frozen out by the ex West Ham gaffer.

The move to Russell Martins team was billed as a chance to show Julen Lopetegui what he was missing. Indeed Martin lavished praise on Cornet after he hooked up with his new team mates “He is a really good footballer, so if we can keep him fit, he really suits what we want to do”

There are no reports suggesting the player is injured and he hasn’t even managed to make the bench for the Saints in recent games.

Sources suggest he needs to work on his fitness, pace and finishing to earn a place in the first team.

Southampton are currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, and it remains to be seen whether Russell Martin feels he deserves a place in his squad.

Sadly this means that West Ham could be faced with a player returning in the summer who is further devalued. Tim Steidten will have great difficulty in shifting the winger, who is on a weekly wage of £65k. The players agents, Unique Sport Group will possibly try and find a club abroad, yet his salary will prove problematic.

However, the loan to Southampton along with other player outgoings has saved the Hammers £4m in salaries and allowed the club to not fall foul of the PSR rules during the last transfer window.

Share this article

I have been a season ticket holder since the late eighties, so experienced the highs and lows of being a West Ham supporter. I previously wrote for OLAS and have contributed to a number of football publications in the past.

4 comments

  • John Ayris says:

    We’re still suffering from the poor and non recruitment under Moyes. It was amateurish to need to bring in such a high number of players as a matter of urgency last window.

  • Phil Baker says:

    Sullivan did recognize the fact that another failing of Moyes was too many crappy signings and consequently offered a new contract as simply a coach . Moyes refused and walked away but not before so much damage done to Westham in crappy signings and failure to sign some real gems like Gyrokeres . Cornet ,Vlasic, Scamacca, Benrahma , Zouma , Aguerd and Calvin Phillips arhhhhh , all proven to be bad fits or serial crocks for Westham . 100 million loss right there . Steidten can talk almost any player into coming to Westham but clearly needs some oversight ( Scankrug and Guillherme , 50 million flushed )) .

    • Matt says:

      You say £50m flushed but we haven’t seen either of them play yet 🤷‍♂️

      Could it be “top sources” claiming one is useless in training and not ready for the first team and the other is homesick to drive a negative narrative?

      Why would we want negativity coming from inside the club? What purpose does it fulfill? Who has an agenda? Why the propaganda?

  • Matt says:

    Forgot all about this waste of money.

    Cheers Moyes! Another on the long list 🤦‍♂️

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *