If ‘Pearl Diving’ Goes Wrong | The £10 Million Punt

It didn’t used to be called ‘Pearl diving’ back a few years ago. It was simply known as ‘taking a punt’ on a lesser known, normally younger player, to see if he could make it in the Premier League. The delight when it works, and a championship – level player like Jamie Vardy or our own Captain Jarrod Bowen make the grade and fly high in the Premier League is felt by Head Coaches and fans alike, and, no doubt by Club Chairmen who get to acquire a big asset without paying big bucks.

Trouble is, sometimes it misfires or, worse, doesn’t fire at all in the case of a goalscorer.

With all of West Ham United’s investment this summer and the talk of ‘pearl diving’, even now, late in the window, with stories abounding about bringing in a striker, I was reminded of a couple of instances where the ‘taking a punt’ option didn’t work.

It isn’t pretty when it goes wrong but it serves as a cautionary tale and a reminder of the high risks which Tim Steidten and co. take each time they commit to buying the ‘un-discovered gem’ like Giulherme.

We have covered the fate of Savio Nsereko elsewhere in Claret and Hugh.

Far less memorable (largely since unlike Savio, he didn’t fake his own kidnapping) Jordan Hugill was one such purchase, costing £10 million as a young ‘prospect’  – even at 26 years old – from Preston in 2018. At the time, we as spectators wondered what secret, striking maestro we’d unearthed and as usual, his Hammers’ expectations were high. Hugill made a total of -oh dear – just three cameo appearances – with 22 minutes in total wearing a claret and blue shirt for West Ham.

He was subsequently loaned out to first Middlesborough and then QPR as it was clear the management staff at then Upton Park didn’t know what to do with him.

An interview in ‘One football’ described him as having ‘no regrets’ – he always seemed upbeat to me, even once quoted as saying of West Ham: ‘They think I’m just an average Championship Player,” – he was sold to average Championship side Norwich City for £3 million plus add-ons that weren’t, to our knowledge, ever added-on.

Norwich then got promoted but loaned him back to average Championship sides WBA then Cardiff City. After what seemed like a whole career on loan, Hugill found a permanent home at Rotherham United in January 2023. And good lad, he’s banged in 10 goals for them.

It serves as a delicate reminder that many of the highly-sought after ‘pearls’ quickly lose their lustre and turn out to be something far less shiny that cannot be polished: Premier League Chairmen get out the cheque books and frequently lose millions on a head coach’s hunch when it doesn’t go according to plan.

And for the players – it can be a blighted career from which they never fully achieve their potential after being the subject of too much hype, too soon. We wish Jordan Well. He’s still playing, aged 32 and as good as ever.