Recent suggestions that Paris Saint Germain and West Ham United were working on a loan deal seem to be wide of the mark. Many of you will know I have been keeping an eye on the Spanish media who broke this story last week and it does seem that there are new developments.
Soler, 27, is the subject of interest from West Ham and from Real Sociedad who had expected to sign the midfielder and were ‘shocked’ to find he was planning a move to East London ( C and H) as per yesterday’s’ piece. It was envisaged that West Ham would work on a deal as per the ‘Todibo -loan- to -buy’ blueprint with a loan fee up front and a full sale being agreed next summer, pushing the payment of the bulk of the fee a year down the line as far as future PSR liabilities were concerned.
However, again looking to the Spanish Sports media who broke this story, it seems as though the Hammers aren’t proceeding down this loan to buy route. Taking a translation direct today, 20 August, from LaRazon.es it would seem that there is a super-positive slant on the ‘Soler to West Ham’ story.
According to the report today, The Irons are now planning to make a straightforward purchase for Carlos Soler priced at €20 million outright – which is a steal for the Irons at about £17 million.
Which would mean that West Ham are in a pretty strong financial position despite previous statements made to C and H by our ‘top club source’ who, when we asked if the club wanted to buy Soler replied :“We”d love to, but we have seriously overspent”. What that suggests to me is that there are as yet unannounced Player Sales in the pipeline to offset this extra cost and the midfielder’s wages rumoured to be €107,000 a week.
So, a sale is the likely outcome, reading the signs from Spain media sources who have been leading with this all along. Certainly this feels less like The Hammers ‘buying now, paying later’ and a more structured, sensible acquisition we’ve come to know from Steidten. Now, I wonder who is on their way out, to balance the books?