West Ham have pencilled the name of Mathieu Flamini onto their possible summer target list.
ClaretandHugh has learned the 31 year old Arsenal defensive midfielder was fancied by some inside Upton Park two years ago but manager Sam Allardyce snubbed the chance of making a move.
Now, however, with a likely change of boss at the end of the season, Flamini could re-enter the frame.
The French star is a free agent at the end of the present campaign and with Alex Song slowly slipping down the wanted list, Flamini could be of interest if the personal demands are realistic.
We were told: “He’s a very useful player who can organise things in front of the back four. It’s too early at this stage to make any sort of firm predictions but his is a name that’s been mentioned.
“The major drive this year though will be towards younger players. We’d like nothing more than to unearth a couple of Aaron Cresswells.
“However, Flamini does bring quite a lot to the party.”
Surely we’ve learnt from previous mistakes!
Young, fit players is the way to go – the Championship must be full of guys who are worth the step up – 31 is probably too old, injuries become more common etc etc
Sensible comments again Michael.This practice of buying players on the career wane as a quick fix has to stop.Again this invariably happens when our leader doesn’t have a youth policy.
Historically The Sophisticated One has never been a manager to encourage or bring on young talent,hence the reason the average age of his teams is usually about 45.He doesnt believe in bringing on & developing young talent.He is the king of the quick fix 28+ player(usually someone he has managed before)for a season or two then bring another in when he is put out to grass 😉
I don’t understand why there are rumors like this. What is the point of Flamini? 31 years old, always injured, no prospects for growth. This a typical player loved by Samuel Stability, Davids don’t have to listen to his requests, they should tell him “Do you like this player? Ops, we don’t, but you could take him to your next team”.
Wise words from the gentlemen above, but to give a counter argument regarding older players who have made a positive impact for us, Teddy Sherringham comes to mind. He was no spring chicken but improved the side.
Young players can be a gamble and I am glad that Cresswell came here and made the jump from Championship to Premiership so well. It is also true though that some of the veterans are a good stop gap until we identify a suitable younger player. If there is a younger version than Flamini we can sign then lets get him, but if not then look at who is available and see if he fits for a year or two.
Yeah is true,but the problem with Allardyces older signings is the fact that they are usually clones of each other,workman like middle of the road players.If you can sign a sheringham type player with plenty to offer still to improve the team then thats great.But many of Allardyces signings are has beens from bigger clubs or journeymen.Sure he gets the best out of them usually but it is a short term investment.We have them for one or two seasons then he is looking for another clone.It would just be nice to see a manager at the club who puts more faith or time into bringing players through the system which he has never been a man to favour.If he had the choice of someone like Flamini or Alex Mowatt he would go for Flamini everyday of the week.A steady,proven player to fit his mould of clones 😉