By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
More of an anecdote than a news story to share with you this morning, but it does give a fascinating insight into the workings behind the scenes at West Ham United, who are very much still trying to build the club from the bottom up.
Earlier this week, Claret & Hugh spoke to a source who revealed that Charles Lewis, son of Tottenham owner Joe Lewis, had contacted a well-known football agent to ask:
“Who do I speak to at West Ham about transfers now?”
Spurs are just one of a number of clubs showing an interest in Hammers midfielder Mateus Fernandes, but that’s not really the story here.
Who Exactly Do You Call?
In the absence of the Sullivan family and Karren Brady, nobody really seemed to know who to negotiate with and where exactly to make transfer offers.
When this story was relayed to me by the agent in question, he followed it up by saying:
“That’s why all these stories about advanced negotiations for players are nonsense, they still haven’t put the team together.”
By “team”, he was referring to the recruitment structure rather than the playing staff on the pitch.
But it did provide a fascinating insight into what is still something of an embryonic set-up behind the scenes as the club reacts to the departures of Karren Brady and David Sullivan.
Spurs could not negotiate for Fernandes
Not The Worst Negotiating Tactic
As a negotiating tactic, and almost a hands-off warning, I think it probably works quite nicely in West Ham’s favour.
Particularly given Daniel Kretinsky has reiterated that he does not wish to sell any key players.
Buying clubs simply don’t know who to pressure.
And if the message coming out of West Ham is “we’re not negotiating”, then perhaps a bit of confusion isn’t the worst thing in the world.
“Well That Was A Waste Of Time”
The most amusing part of the story came after a few days of frustration and, clearly, several dead ends.
Charles Lewis apparently summed up his attempts to negotiate with the Hammers by saying:
“Well that was a waste of time.”
Which, if nothing else, tells you everything you need to know about where West Ham currently are behind the scenes.
Still very much a work in progress.