IF- as we are being told by various in the know journos, including our own Sean Whetstone, that the price for Aaron Wan Bissaka has been set by Manchester United at £18 million, then call me shallow but I don’t see the problem. This is the same club that not six weeks ago paid £22 million for the ‘pearl’ that is Luis Guilherme, a young, untested Brazilian recruit who we all hope will go on to greatness.
£18 million, then, to sign what most see as an absolute ‘pedigree’ right back with pace, control, brilliant tackling ability and 26 years old so in his prime- with a small residual value at the end of a 5 year contract but ‘only’ earning £90,000 a week.
And if, plus that £18 million, Man U and The Irons had to share the player’s ‘golden goodbye’ – so another £1.5 million for West Ham to pay out- or worse, if we had to fork out the whole £3million, it seems to be essential business to me. Instead of focussing on the fact that the player would be available next year on a ‘free’ (plus no doubt a handsome ‘signing on fee for his agent!!) look at the value he brings to London Stadium today.
I just see a contradiction in our transfer strategy here. Having lost Ben Johnson, this was always one of our key positions to be filled right from before the opening of the Window. Whether you are in the ‘Coufal is wonderful’ or the ‘Coufal isn’t cutting it’ camp, the Czech alone simply isn’t going to be enough for the Hammers come August 17th.
Either, then, there is more to the story than we are being told -which is quite likely knowing the Harry Maguire transfer/payments mess last summer – or on one side the interest in the player is being slowed for a hidden purpose. Could be Manchester United are having second thoughts with their sudden defender injury crisis. Could be West Ham are now re-opening negotiations on the side for a different target, seeing how intransigent the player or his club are being.
Whichever is the real truth – this needs a resolution now. For all the glamour signings of forwards and wingers, the way we will improve is firstly to stop opponents scoring 74 goals against us this coming season. Signing Max Kilman on his own won’t be much of a ‘fix’ as we’ve seen from pre-season. The ‘warning’ light is flashing. I’m not decrying the excellent work in the window to date, as a Hammers fan I am genuinely excited.
The next-generation Steve Potts, Thomas Repka, Billy Bonds or Pablo Zabaleta – depending on your vintage – is every bit as critical to the Irons’ success if less glamourous. It’ll be the un-sexy signings at the back who help to keep those clean sheets ( what’s one of those?) and now, urgently, need nailing down.
Spot on Martin. Defensive reinforcements are an absolute must.
Assume you mean Ben Johnson? Or are you still upset about Glen going to Chelsea all those years ago?
Dear oh dear
It’s not the simple fact of the fee, and the loyalty payment Man U are refusing to pay, and the wages, then you see the reason why this deal is taking its time. Its not even worth discussing Guilherme if you don’t see the value of paying a small outlay for a young winger clearly wanted by the club.
You obviously are in the camp of Coufal is not the answer, despite the fact yet again last season he was one of the highest assisters in the side, and maybe you didn’t watch the Euros where he was excellent as a wing back which people are assuming is what JLo will require.
There seems to be a continual wish for you to make disparaging comments about signings made when you haven’t a scooby what the club’s strategy is …
Coufal is an average defender and has never completely convinced me wan bissaka is an upgrade if we could get him on the other hand I would have preferred walker peters
“I just see a contradiction in our transfer strategy here” for that you would need to know what the strategy is.
I think signing Wan Bissaka is a no brainer. Immediately improves the starting line up. But as you say, we don’t know the full story. I’m still hoping we can get this deal sorted. Otherwise we’ll be going back to try to get Walker Peters
100% agree. Coufal has been a good servant for the club over the years but his best is well behind him.
It has been well documented that we are on the hunt for a top class right back and clearly the manager does not have faith in Coufal being able to cope with the new style of football we supporters have been crying out for.
Bissaka ticks all the boxes, so let’s pay what most of us know he is worth and then move on trying to bring in another centre back to support Kilman.
Need 2 right backs_Coufal + A n other.
Need 2 left backs_Emerson + A n other.
Need 3 centre backs_Kilman + A n other and either Mavro or Aquerd.
This is to give competition and cover injury or suspension
At least Zouma should be gone, an unknown Saudi team are talking with his agents
As long as now we have Guido, we are not selling Alvarez to UTD as part of a Bissaka plus cash deal
Man Utd suddenly upped the asking price by £3m last week because they know we need a quality right back.
Do we just roll over & say OK we’ll pay whatever you say or go after new targets?
Because AWB wants a 3m loyalty bonus
I ain’t being funny chaps and chapesses, but aren’t we already WAY over the original Summer transfer budget? Has Sully found some spare cash down the back of the sofa?
No, at the moment we’re net £77 after selling Kehrer, Benny and Downes
We were supposed to have around 90-100 depending on sources
Zouma medical booked with Al-Qadsiah, let’s hope he passes it 😬😄
It has been well documented we are on the hunt for a new right back therefore the manager must feel that Coufal does not fit in with the new style of football he is trying to implement.
Bissaka ticks all the boxes, and even those who think Coufal still has something to offer would accept Bissaka is an upgrade.
Its not just about being an upgrade, and Coufal definitely fits in with the new style. We need some kind of cover for injury as well since we sold Ben Johnson. Wan Bissaka is great at defending but isn’t as good going forward, so between the pair of them we have 2 decent right backs and cover as well.
Coufal is most definitely NOT suited to our anticipated more possession based style. He just does not have the requisite skills to take the ball under pressure at the back. As soon as he is pressed he either loses possession, produces a panic pass putting others in trouble or hits a hopeful ball up the line.
An improvement at RB is a must.
Before stating that maybe you should watch how he played for Prague or the Czech Republic. The way he has played since being with us was by design from Mr Moyes, but he has the requisite skills because he regularly showcased them before joining us and while on international duty.
I never saw him play for Prague but I have watched the recent Czech Republic games and as a Billy Bonds Stand season ticket holder I get an ultra close up view for at least 45 minutes every home game!
It’s got nothing to do with David Moyes. I have also watched the streams of our preseason games and he is no different under Lopetegui. He is a brilliant professional, has given 100% in every game he has played for us and I have total respect for him……… but we need an upgrade.
we are being told by various in the know journos, including our own Sean Whetstone,
Are you seriously putting whetstone in the same bracket 🤣🤣🤣
Mischief making of the highest order has been seen this window. To my reckoning the “in the knows” have only managed to call one right(Mr Kilman) so don’t be surprised if a RB and possibly a CB that nobody has yet mentioned rocks up before the window closes.
I still can’t work out how we wanted walker peters’.Southampton was loosing sleep over our player ‘and we never done a deal
It’s a known problem with Man Utd transfers that crops up all the time and not just for us. Their players are on huge contracts with big wages – even by EPL standards – and plenty of add-ons.
Just because the Mancs have a change of manager and fancy dumping someone doesn’t mean their contract becomes invalid, so there are various ancillary payments to be met; loyalty bonuses, reduced wages, probable appearance fees, clean sheet bonuses, etc.
If the player has a reasonable expectation he would have got these if he stayed, there’s really no reason why he should then forego them just because suddenly his face doesn’t fit. It’s normally the case that Man United want to offload them, not that a club wants to make a massive offer for them, so it’s a Manc probem to fix.
We might want a player, but it’ll be on our terms, not Ineos’.
Saying things like ‘only £3m’ is easy when it’s not you balancing the books or writing the cheques.
It’s a known problem with Man Utd transfers that crops up all the time and not just for us. Their players are on huge contracts with big wages – even by EPL standards – and plenty of add-ons.
Just because the Mancs have a change of manager and fancy dumping someone doesn’t mean their contract becomes invalid, so there are various ancillary payments to be met; loyalty bonuses, reduced wages, probable appearance fees, clean sheet bonuses, etc.
If the player has a reasonable expectation he would have got these if he stayed, there’s really no reason why he should then forego them just because suddenly his face doesn’t fit. It’s normally the case that Man United want to offload them, not that a club wants to make a massive offer for them, so it’s a Manc problem to fix.
We might want a player, but it’ll be on our terms, not Ineos’.
Saying things like ‘only £3m’ is easy when it’s not you balancing the books or writing the cheques.
If we had wanted KWP, a deal was there to be done on the back of the Downes sale that Southampton were so desperate to clinch. Obviously he wasn’t a primary target at the price they wanted.
AWB is a great player better than KWP and I am a fan of both.
He is an upgrade on dear old Vlad for sure and that from someone who has nothing but admiration for Vlad who gives 100 per cent every game despite his limitations – a great engine keeps going but absolutely lacks pace ! Contract negotiations seem to be interminable these days, like buying a new car where the list price isn’t the full story and if you want a steering wheel or keys to lock it that costs extra
I don’t blame the player at all it’s a short career (it is always the agents behind the intransigence in not doing what is best for their clients career but what matters financially to the agent. What gets me most is that we are taking five years of guaranteed income earning more in a week than the median Hammers fan will in a year and at a club that clearly wants you and you can be a star at and possibly get yourself into the England reckoning – he’s always been a decent defender and now getting better going forward.
At some point these guys need to get some perspective. Money – when you earn that much shouldn’t be everything. It’s a short career but at elite level how many Lambos and houses do you need
It’s in his contract so why shouldn’t he hold out for it ?
I think every penny counts now
We’ve probably got around £23m left depending on sources for how much we had to spend, and we want a RB and CB
Think haggling for £3m is probably sensible at this time
‘then call me shallow but I don’t see the problem’
OK. You are shallow. The player wants a 3m loyalty bonus and Man Utd are asking us to pay it despite the fact that they put it in his contract so they should be the ones that pay it. So suddenly.you would just hand over 3m would you ?
If you don’t think it’s a big deal then pay it yourself and then the deal will happen.
You are completely naive.
umm if Aaron Wan Bissaka was “an absolute ‘pedigree’ right back” then i feel that he would just be coming back from the euros and man u most certainly wouldn’t be trying to sell for the amounts quoted , £12-23 million , and they would have already resolved “the last year of his contact” situation , but there we are . i was under the impression that he is really waiting for a so called “bigger” european club who are in a uefa competition to come and save and him from his unwanted fate , in a similar fashion to the french centre half bloke , but hey what do i know ? and if he qualifies for a pay off from man u then i feel he should get it wherever he goes unless he personally negotiates otherwise !
You can’t deal with Utd, they can afford to let players rot and do, we should get shot of this or give Utd a time ultimatum before walking away, I find it hard to believe there aren’t more promising defenders out there than AWB… likewise the CB position, keep banging on about it but Fabricio Bruno if we offered him what he was asking for we would have a cb now for 12.7m it’s obvious other than a striker defenders are the priority, am very happy with Rodriguez too and hoping that he becomes the point between defence and the midfield that controls the game he looks a far superior passer than Alvarez and the two of them should be able to control the space well. Looking forward cautiously to next year if we can keep our best players and add 3 or 4 defenders.
It’s no longer about ‘cover’ as I believe Julen will rotate the squad. The days of Moyes’ favoured starting eleven is over.
The choice of attacking players is decent. Behind the main striker(s), West Ham have Kudus, Bowen, Paqueta, Guilherme, Summerville, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Irving and Cornet. They all offer something different. I expect at least one of them to be moved on soon.
We most likely will be playing two defensive mids in front of the centre-backs – Alvarez and Rodriguez are the obvious suspects.
A second right back signing is looming, plus a central defender or two if the expected departures happen, I still wouldn’t rule out West Ham signing Duran (for much less), which will allow Ings to leave.
The squad is being strengthened. Though all of the players could take August and September to gel with Julen’s tactics. COYI.
If as some are reporting the issue is AWB wanting a loyalty payment then that’s on Man U. He has not asked for a transfer. He could sit on the bench all of next season, pick up his wage and leave on a free. In January he can sign a pre contract agreement with a club in Europe. If United don’t want this too happen pay him. It is not West Hams responsibility.