West Ham Losing Faith as Transfer Effort Falters

West Ham fan and Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg has confirmed what Claret & Hugh have been reporting since December about the club’s bid for Angel Gomes.

The Lille and England midfielder is available on a free transfer at the end of the season, and the Hammers made an effort to sign him in January.

That bid, made via a third party, was rejected outright by Gomes’ team of representatives, led by his brother.

Steinberg has reported that sources within the club are losing confidence that a deal can be done, which should come as no surprise to C&H readers.

As we reported previously, Gomes’ representatives were so unimpressed with West Ham’s initial offer that they stopped all dialogue. The Hammers had been outbid by four other clubs, including Fulham, leaving little chance of any deal being resurrected. Claret & Hugh were exclusively informed by a Portuguese based source at the time that the Irons were “Nowhere near” with their offer.

However, the appointment of Graham Potter prompted the club to make a second attempt, but C&H were informed it was nowhere near good enough. As we reported at the start of this month, there was a slim chance Gomes and his father, Gil, would consider an offer from West Ham— but only if the structure of negotiations changed significantly from the club’s initial approach.