Club insiders have insisted that no decisions have yet been made on any West Ham player being sold and say they would only consider selling first team players if they were confident they could land a player in the same position of better quality.
Pedro Obiang has been linked with a return to Italy with Sampdoria leading the chase alongside Fiorentina and Atalanta but insiders said earlier this week he is still part of Pellegrini’s for next season. Should an Italian club meet West Ham’s valuation they would first want to be sure of a replacement before reluctantly allowing Pedro to leave.
Chiek Kouyate has been linked with a move to FC Porto and Crystal Palace in recent hours but again the insider insists he won’t be allowed to leave unless they are confident in landing a replacement of better quality.
The insider told Claret and Hugh “No decision has been made on anybody yet, but we might consider if we could guarantee to get in better”
I would be interested to find out if the rumours are true about Thiago Mendes, he and Stefano Sturaro certainly fit into the replacement mould for Kouyate and Obiang, if Huggil goes also which is likely then that would be three replacements, striker and two CDM’s.
I think what club is acknowledging is that the squad size has already been reduced with the departures of Mario, Hart, Evra, Collins, and Burke, plus Browne and Samuelson on loan. there are also long term injuries to Lanzini, Carroll, and Reid. Some of the arrivals are direct replacements. In real terms the squad size is unaltered. Whilst there has been negligible income from all these outgoings it is a real statement on intent if any further departures are to be matched by replacements.I would imagine that Oxford, Byram and Hugill sit outside this description but Obiang and Kouyate remain important to the squad.