Whilst not every West Ham fan will be thrilled that the signing of Evan Ferguson is only a loan deal, it’s worth remembering that nothing about this transfer is without risk.
The young Brighton striker has had his fledgling football career beset by injuries, and I believe the Hammers were wise to implement a try-before-you-buy policy.
It is understood the Seagulls would have preferred a straight transfer with a permanent deal for £40 million. However, West Ham have done well to negotiate the deal as a loan-only transaction.
That said, there is the possibility that Ferguson arrives at West Ham, has a Jesse Lingard-type impact, avoids injury, and returns to the south coast with his reputation enhanced.
In that eventuality, the Hammers would have benefited from the loan but ultimately priced themselves out of a permanent deal.
But there is also risk on Brighton & Hove Albion’s side. If the big Irish striker fails to shine at West Ham or picks up another ankle injury, his price will depreciate.
There is probably no ideal solution, but West Ham have managed to cover the absence of the injured Niclas Füllkrug and Michail Antonio without dipping into the summer transfer fund.
Ultimately, if Ferguson proves to be a success at the London Stadium, the Hammers will have enjoyed the benefits of an excellent player for six months. However, if the 20-year-old fails to make an impression, then we haven’t really lost anything at all.
Give Ferguson a chance a lot of players give everything for certain managers and not for others, that’s why wevhave potter at the helm. Should have been selected after Moyes.
Onwards and upwards let’s get above the kids and The red side of Manchester
Need to see how Ferguson shapes up … but this could be another Lingard ..?? 🤞🤞 .. Also welcome to back Ward-Prowes …. Need him too 👏👏👏 and hope to see Bowen tonight
COYI ⚒️⚒️⚒️
I’m not excited by Ferguson fullstop?
If he plays brilliantly we will have benefited from it but then probably not much chance of signing him permanently. Or if there is a chance the price will have just gone up and we’ll be competing against other teams with bigger pockets wanting to sign him. At least it covers us while we have no striker.
Why the hell are we not buying another centre forward as well. We lost 2 strikers through injury one of those being utter crap and one over the top striker in a car crash. We need 2 strikers. Plus a centre half and I would also bring back our master dead ball expert from Forest.
Why are we all getting excited Sullivan pulling of another masterstroke We got a loan with no option to buy for an injury prone player who is third choice down at Brighton This after months of waiting for a new c forward to arrive
He came on for Brighton as NFO thrashed them and was invisible. Next.
We are wasting a squad space and money on a high risk loan. I would have preferred to that we had tried to sign someone else tbh. We’ve had all window to identify and sign a half decent target, but thanks to Sullivan we are rushing to sign no one who is going to enhance the team. A Celtic reserve and a Ligue 2 player, we have seen this strategy from Sullivan before and it usually ends with a couple of seasons of no playing time and either a sale at a loss or they are released on a free.
I have no issues with a loan. I would have had with a permanent transfer or with a loan with obligation to buy as that would have entailed great risk. Brighton would have been deranged to allow a loan with option to buy. So a loan seems sensible.
If he keeps fit for the rest of the season, a big if, then we have a decent player for that long. If he doesn’t then no great loss, that’s the limited chance we take. Some chances are worth taking and others are not.
I would have gone with an obligation to buy based on appearances..14 games left ..If he lasts 10 then we buy him at an agreed fee….This deal doesnt appeal because whatever happens the bottom line is he is a Brighton player…They win we lose…Ok so financially it works..But we are trying to build after Moyes/Loppy are we not?..This is papering over the cracks..And going for a couple of nobodys from Celtic and Lorient to appease the fanbase is classic Sullivan….Having said all that..Its a difficult window so it will do…
Yours truly ..Grumpy Hammer.
Not risk free. We are paying all of his wages plus a significant loan fee with no early exit clause. Why oh why didn’t we insist upon an option to buy? If as we all hope he goes on to shine then job done, we sign him permanently with no competition, and if he doesn’t we send him back and move on. That’s what any properly run club would have done isn’t it? Despite what has been reported, we held all the cards as Ferguson only wanted to work under Potter.
It costs us another half a season without a centre forward.
What???…