By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Whilst the transfer window might have slammed shut for West Ham in terms of buying players, there still lies the opportunity for some more of Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad to be picked off by leagues where Deadline Day hasn’t happened yet.
One of those is Turkey’s Süper Lig, where the transfer window remains open until 4 September.
And now The Times are reporting interest from Trabzonspor in Hammers striker Pablo Felipe – fresh off his best game in a West Ham shirt.
There were reports earlier this summer that Pablo’s agent, a certain Jorge Mendes, was seeking to find a move for his client.
No surprise there, I guess. That’s precisely what Mendes does.
And there were certainly more than a few West Ham fans, myself included, who wouldn’t have been sorry to see him go.
West Ham striker Pablo Felipe is reportedly attracting interest from Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor.
Selling Pablo Now Would Be Madness
However, summer dealings have seen two strikers leave in the form of Callum Wilson and Niclas Füllkrug, with Joel Piroe arriving.
Factor in Pablo’s improved performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the fact that West Ham do seem to perform better with him in the side, and it would be absolute madness to sell him.
I’ve been critical of Pablo plenty of times, but against Wolves he was integral to West Ham’s attacking performance.
He may not have registered a shot, but his work rate, link-up play and involvement in the build-up to Divine Mukasa’s opener helped make it his best performance since joining West Ham.
With the squad already short of attacking options, allowing another striker to disappear after the English window has closed would leave West Ham unable to replace him.
Trabzonspor Have Already Signed Another Striker
Not that I completely believe Pablo will end up at Trabzonspor.
The Turkish club have just completed the signing of Franculino Djú from FC Midtjylland for €17million.
That’s particularly interesting because West Ham themselves were offered the opportunity to sign Djú earlier this summer, only to look elsewhere.
Trabzonspor have now committed significant money to the 22-year-old, so it could simply be a case of Pablo having been on their list rather than still being somebody they need.
Let’s hope so.
Because whatever I might have thought about Pablo previously, West Ham’s circumstances have changed.
Selling him now would be absolute madness.
I’ve liked Pablo from the off – he works his socks off every minute he is on the pitch, which is not something you can accuse some of the other players of! And you don’t have to be a prolific goal scorer to be a successful striker – exhibit A Emile Heskey. Good enough to play for England 62 times but only scored 7 goals, but his link play allowed Michael Owen to score a hatful
Honestly I think you’re losing your head. It’s a game of opinions of course, and I happen to disagree with your historical opinion of Pablo. But it’s the fact that you believe he had a great game and now your opinion flips just like that – fickle. 60% win rate with him in the team 14% win rate when he’s not. Since he signed we have won 12 matches – 9 of those he started.
Firstly, am not saying Pablo is Firminho but he could be Firminho-like – high line, intense work rate, pressuring the defence, drawing defenders and creating space for the wide attackers to score (Salah and Mane in Firminho’s case). Just don’t call him a striker. He is not a striker.
Nothing to do with whether Pablo is good, bad or indifferent. The window here has closed and we don’t have cover. He’s not for sale at least until January.
Richarlason is on his way to Trabzonspor apparently
well the team colours will be VERY familiar for him!
Playing with Mo Salah would be fun!
When I saw the headline, “West Ham Striker targeted for late exit”, I wondered who that could possibly be. But, Felipe ? NOT a striker in my book – to be a “striker” you have to score goals ! Felipe absolutely does NOT do that ! However, I do agree that he had his best game for us against Wolves. In fact, I had him down as our second best player – after Mukasa. But, although he had a “good” game, I did not think that there was an awful lot to write home about his performance. You could say that about all the rest of the players, too. But, I do agree that we have to keep him; he might be useful to us in the long run.
No way must we sell him. He had a fantastic game against Wolves and his energy and link up in the attacks made a huge difference. He put energy to win into the whole team. Let him go and that would be our biggest mistake of the transfer season.
Pablo is like Soucek, people moan when he is on pitch but is missed when not. We need Soucek back especially at corners!
This particular site has always been critical of Pablo. All I’ve seen is a player giving 100% every time he’s on the pitch and although not scoring he is an absolute handful for defenders to deal with, allowing our other players room and time to do their stuff. He reminds me of Antonio in his ability to disrupt and if he can start hitting he back of the net as Antonio did, the majority will recognise his value.