Graham Potter has set his stall out to recruit young talent and give his own youngsters an opportunity to develop from academy thorough to first team success – according to his own words this summer.
The Hammers manager was widely reported to be looking inwards for solutions apparently – former loanees Potts and Earthy were reported as having a chance to play important roles for the Hammers next season.
Which makes reports this morning linking West Ham with yet another old Premier League ‘warhorse’ that much more difficult to swallow.
Football Fancast suggest today that the Hammers are looking at one very familiar old face:
“West Ham are now battling Nottingham Forest in the race to sign Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen. The former Arsenal man looks set to be on the move ahead of next season and has attracted interest from the Hammers, Forest, Sunderland, Fulham and Crystal Palace as a result.”
Tempted as I was to ignore the report completely, simply because it stinks of heading backwards into the dark ages of old, past-it players being brought to West Ham doesn’t make it untrue.
Another old face looking for an easy payday at West Ham?
One would have to hope that the report is speculation and not based on fact otherwise West Ham’s predicament of having the oldest premier league squad with the worst stats will be never-ending. At some stage, someone in the club needs to shout ‘no more old players‘ and actually mean it.
Short-termism is exactly how this club got in such a mess and it is certainly not the way to build for the future. Fingers crossed ‘Nottingham Forest’ or anyone else, frankly, rescue West Ham from the perils of another thirty-something high earning, zero residual value recruit.
Two words. ” Danny Ings”.
Hardly in line with Graham Potter’s stated plan. Makes you wonder who is running this club, doesn’t it.
One Word – Sullivan
Do we still have the oldest squad in the PL? There were a few players, most noticeably Fab, that earned us that title. But no Fab, no Ings, no Cresswell, no Antonio, no Coufal – has anyone redone the math?
This stinks of Sullivan poking his nose in again potter knows the type of players he wants to bring to the club if Sullivan can’t let potter and co pick players they want to sign then what’s the point of him being here we have seen this regularly in the past and the problems it brings it shows lack of ambition and a step backwards Sullivan Brady and co need to get out of this great club
The thing is we know who runs the club, but he wants to run the team as well, don’t know why he doesn’t just do his badges and have done with managers.
“Makes you wonder who is running this club, doesn’t it.”
Very funny, Martin. Do I detect just a hint of sarcasm here? Yes, a 32 year old is just the type of player that Mr David Sullivan would be interested in. Short Termism at it’s worst.
Potter has more sense, thank goodness than to consider player’s of no sell on value and he wants younger, fitter player’s. Even under Moyes, player’s like Valsic, Benrahma, Emerson, Paqueta etc to some extent never imposed themselves on the opposition and results suffered for it. The top six team’s all have quality player’s but also the desire and robustness to dominate matches, if, Potter can change that fragile mentality and install a new approach with eleven, organised players with the same philosophy then we’ve a chance of a decent season.
If we buy older players with no sell on fee irrespective of who is the manager, it makes you conclude that such decisions are being made by the board and not the managers
Can’t see any truth in this. Unless it’s Sullivan sticking his nose into things again.