By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X).
Like most other West Ham fans, I had resigned myself to the fact that players such as Mateus Fernandes, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen would be looking for a way out of the club this summer.
After all, West Ham have been relegated to the Championship and it’s understandable that established international footballers would rather be competing at the top level than in England’s second tier.
What I hadn’t really anticipated, however, was the possibility of losing players who couldn’t even command a regular first-team place last season.
Mohammadou Kanté is a good example. Used mainly as a substitute during the second half of the campaign, a season in the Championship could be exactly what he needs.
The same is certainly true of Soungoutou Magassa, who has recently been linked with Eintracht Frankfurt.
West Ham Cannot Afford To Lose Magassa
Magassa had a hit-and-miss first season at West Ham.
When he was bad, he was awful. But when he was good, he was very good indeed, as demonstrated by his goal and Man of the Match performance against Manchester United.
The young Frenchman seemed to have a bit of everything in his game. A good passing range, an awareness of danger when tracking back and tackling, and the ability to carry the ball through midfield all marked him out as an exciting prospect.
Magassa passing
| Passing Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Passes | 405 |
| Passing Accuracy | 80.7% |
| Successful Passes – Opposition Half | 75.1% |
| Successful Passes – Own Half | 84.1% |
| Successful Short Passes | 83.5% |
| Successful Long Passes | 19.0% |
| Forward Passes | 28.6% |
Of course, with West Ham paying Monaco around £20 million for him, you’d expect there to be plenty of talent there.
With that in mind, he was one of the midfielders I expected to thrive in the Championship.
Because if Magassa can produce the level of performance he was showing in France, you’d expect him to be one of the best midfielders in the division.
And for that reason, it’s imperative West Ham do not sell him.
The player himself has taken to Instagram this evening with a picture of him in his West Ham shirt saying “The next one will be better”. Assuming he means season rather than club, it’s a encouraging update and one West Ham must take note of.
Magassa is a young player with huge potential
The Rebuild Is Difficult Enough Already
The club face a significant overhaul as it is, with at least seven departures looking likely.
If whoever is currently overseeing transfers decides to start cashing in on the youngsters as well as the ambitious senior players, then West Ham are going to find it near impossible to build a competitive squad.
And after all, what would it say if West Ham not only failed to retain their best international players, but also their best young ones?
Big question for me is manager’s approach. Would have thought Kante, Magassa, … and others could become very good players, but are they ready to take the Championship by storm? Is manager going to work closely with them over pre-season to improve them and get them ready?
Just as the post says Magassa looked really talented, but then made mistakes which for what its worth, to me, looked due to inexperience, not knowing when to move forwards or cover, getting carried away and attempting to do too much & everything, etc. In one game it all clicked & came together, next game he wanted to repeat it, you could see he had the same ambition, but not possible – too soon I guess and PL that is tough.
He looks like a very exciting prospect who could be box-to-box and be good in the opposition area. In the Championship, winning more games than we ever hoped to in the PL, will be a real fillip to all the lads and their approach to games. Hope they will come into their own and that this is the manager’s plan/intention to work with the youngsters and get them to make that step up, that is so hard.
Orford & Potts, will they get into midfield, or be loans?
If that happens Nuno will be off and suing Sullivan for false promises and we can prepare for league one, that’s not tounge in cheek that’s what I genuinely fear could happen, Sullivan and kretinsky he’s showing he’s just as bad would rather sell every decent player and prospects that put the money in they’ve wasted to leave us in this perilous position
Reported elsewhere that a few French interested in Kante. sully has stated a £15-20m valuation. If true utter madness, typical Sullivan move.
A lot of doom and gloom around here, perhaps we should remind ourselves that West Ham are the clear bookies favourites to go straight back up next season.
Codswallop. Good positive stories today about Lamadrid, Traore, Sydie Peck & Bowen potentially staying . . . . you didn’t comment on a single one. Clearly you don’t like good news half as much as you claim.
Ever considered you might be seeking out the negativity for comment Chris?
Errr…well you’ve just got to look at the title of your article to find a bit of gloom! 🙂
Selling Fernandez (£70m), Summerville (£35m), Todbido (£20m), Alvarez (£20m) will be close to £150m.
Figure which has been publicly announced they need to raise.
This doesn’t encroach on Bowen, Soucek, Taty, Mavro, Magassa, Kante or any other players.
If there are others they want to move on (or can) then this would allow for incoming players.
Media are portraying a need to lose 13 players which seems extremely accessive.
No mention of their parachute payment_£50m?
A problem with world cup might be Summerville (who can be fragile) what happens if he gets injured.
He could end up being a whu player next year.
West Ham should keep Mavropanos, Magassa and Kante. The irons need to keep a core of their younger, proven good players and build their future around them.