ClaretandHugh is delighted to announce that former Hammers Academy chief Terry Westley today joins us as our new columnist/pundit and in his first column looks at the Maxi Gomez saga and what the failure to sign him means at this stage of the summer. He is in conversation with Hugh Southon.
First let me say how pleased I am to be joining CandH which has always been essential reading for me and most at West Ham.
I was delighted to be asked to contribute and will be writing whenever there’s issues on which Hugh and the boys need a view from me.
This week of course it has to be the Maxi Gomez saga!
So in the end it didn’t happen and I don’t think that will come as a surprise to many Hammers given that he always always seemed more inclined to stay in Spain than come the the Premier League.
Neither I, and most certainly Manuel Pellegrini, will be panicking about the situation. I got to know him very well in my time at the club and that just isn’t in his nature at all.
Indeed the whole affair may have been a blind for something else that is going on because trust me he and his director of football Mario Husillos keep everything very close to their chest.
It’s impossible for me to believe that they won’t have other avenues open to players on their hit list and the idea that they will have put all their eggs in one basket with Gomez is a non starter for me. They are closer to the situation than anybody and will have known which way the wind was blowing some time back.
There’s no reason for any of us to start getting anxious because although the season is only a month away there has been very little movement elsewhere. It’s usually from this stage onwards that things get stepped up and they will be – that’s a certainty.
It’s good news that the management team keep things quiet and is maybe not averse to the odd FALSE leak because the likes of Everton, Bournemouth, Arsenal, Spurs and the rest all know the top strikers and letting the world know who we are REALLY after is not a good idea as a result.
These guys seriously know what they are doing so let’s all be patient and refuse that deadly panic up scenario.
Welcome back Terry
Your input will be invaluable for sure⚒
Cheers Terry – That’s comforting, as from the outside it does seem like our transfer window is starting to have a similar feel to those scatter gun ones gone by.