I was a little disappointed yesterday to hear that Manchester United full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka had rejected the chance to join West Ham.
Depending on which website or transfer ITK you read, Wan-Bissaka reportedly turned down the Hammers not for football reasons but for financial ones. In short, West Ham could not offer enough money to persuade the former Crystal Palace man to return to London.
It now appears that the deal for Wan-Bissaka could be back on, but only because Manchester United will help sweeten the deal in order for him to leave.
Whilst I have been highly critical of our club for not paying our Academy graduates the going rate, there is little doubt that we pay significant wages to senior players. In many respects, it could be argued that West Ham pays too much money, which has often resulted in poor returns.
The most recent example is Danny Ings, who earns north of £80k per week for not doing very much at all. Ings is not an exceptional case either; West Ham were more than happy to pay former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez almost £140k per week too.
There are numerous examples of the Hammers overpaying for diminishing returns, and I’m quite sure that whatever we offered Wan-Bissaka would have been more than fair. I doubt it would have matched his Manchester United wages, but I’m certain it would have been over £70k. In esscence, I believe West Ham will offer a fair wage for a player of AWB’s talents.
Maybe there are a queue of clubs willing to pay the Red Devils defender the money he wants, but I suspect not. Therefore, Wan-Bissaka has to choose between money and playing football.
Wan-Bissaka’s Lingard example
He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last player who will have to make that decision and many get it wrong. When I consider AWB’s situation, a certain Jesse Lingard springs to mind. Lingard, of course, rejected the Hammers’ offer of £125k per week to sign a one-year deal at Nottingham Forest for £10m.
Perhaps that won’t be Wan-Bissaka’s fate, and after all, he’s a big boy who’s perfectly capable of making his own decisions. However, I do wonder if he finds himself out of favour at Old Trafford in January, we might see a situation where recent history repeats itself.
You are football players not brain surgeons, and as Jeeps says saudi involvement will make it worse, Greed has destroyed our beautiful game. If money is your God then we don’t want you 100k per week is more than enough for a dozen footballers let alone one.
Don’t need players with this attitude at the club. We made an offer he didn’t accept it that should be end of move on, don’t waste time on players like this man.
This obsession at westham with spent overpaid man utd players does my head in!! We want hungry motivated players with something to prove not millionaire hasbeens
Maguire refused to move to WHU last season for greed of money. Strange trend.
We have Kurt Zouma on our books. He is paid far too much for impersonating a footballer.
Hopefully ffp will bring down player fees and also wages and the vast majority of us will believe it’s a good thing. Many of these players are on huge money and lead lifestyles most of us can only dream of and yet they always want more
The only problem with ffp is clubs like us and Newcastle won’t ever be able to catch up and compete regularly with the top teams
Clubs will have to develop and play fair number of youth players instead of constantly dipping into the market which I would be more than happy to see
FFP. Will never help. Chelsea and City will continue to go unpunished and throw billions about. Inequity.
Nearly 60 years a Hammer. In those years I’ve watched the decline of the greatest game transforming it to a money making business for billionaires to play with
For me I’ve decided with a very heavy heart to stop bothering watching anymore.
I wish the team all the best and I’ll miss the best fans in the world
⚒️⚒️⚒️COYI
greed ,that all it is.if he doesen’t want to come,leave him,don’t go back ,look for someone who really wants hammers as his club,on the other hand the duran saga,if you really want someone as it appears the hammers do,pay the price and try and negotiate,wages with the player as it seems he wants out anyway
It’s all out of hand this money thing.
Cap transfer fees. Cap players wage. Players pay agents fees.
Saudi involvement is going to escalate these problems.
Few year’s time it will be £200m for first team players.
Any team under top 6 won’t be able to consider transfers.
So Forest paid 50% more than West Ham’s offer to get Lingard. Boy, did we dodge a bullet there! And Forest chucked all that dosh down the toilet.
Not all was wasted. Jesse helped them get a 3 point deduction.
He turned us down because he wouldn’t get the money he wants I find that hard to believe it’s always the same when dealing with Man Utd they have a attitude that their club and players are better than the rest that may have been true years ago but they.are not now just look at last season’s squad they were very lucky to win the fa cup and get a place in Europe Man Utd are a spent force there is no way I can see them making the top four next season or the top ten for that matter but unlike West Ham the supporters of Man Utd can and will desert them unless a miracle happens but with West Ham the supporters back the team even when things don’t work out as they say once a hammer always a hammer COYI
I am sick of reading about greedy players and their disgusting agent fees. A full back on £100k a week is absurd.
These young men would likely be selling mobile phones in Curry’s or serving up burger and chips, or even drawing unemployment benefit, but for a talent to kick a ball.
We have seen a few of our academy players, aided and abetted by their greedy agent, turn down contracts with WHU and then sign for a competitor for more money. Ashby, Ngana, Perkins all essentially on the football scrapheap and I’m glad.
Totally. Well said.
Moan when the we won’t pay what the club & player want & still moan when they do.
In some people’s eyes, the powers that be will never do the correct thing.
This window we are going to have to probably pay slightly over the odds as we have no european football to entice the top players through the door.
Saying that though, if we go in for someone & they turn us down for whatever reason, walk away & don’t go back.
Spot on
I thought that the whole issue with this potential transfer was that Wan Bissaka wanted to go to Milan.
Unbelievable! The Hammers turned down because we can’t meet his wage demands. As if he hasn’t enough money already! 😏
Completely agree. Is 3.5m not enough? Good headline – Lingard certainly got bitten on the behind for being greedy when we would have had him with open arms and plenty of love. Hope Korea’s been great, Jesse!