Why Taty Castellanos Has Become Untouchable

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

Reports from The i Paper suggest Taty Castellanos is now more likely to remain at West Ham this summer despite reported interest from Everton… and rightly so!

There was always an understanding among Hammers fans that players such as Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville were likely to leave. The club’s financial position after relegation meant difficult decisions had to be made. We get it.

However, West Ham have now banked £85 million for Fernandes, while Summerville is set to complete his move to Al Hilal for an initial £55 million, with a further £10 million in potential add-ons.

That changes the picture massively.

Promotion Has To Be The Priority

Having generated that sort of money, the need to sell players the club actually want to keep has surely diminished.

If West Ham are serious about bouncing straight back to the Premier League, then retaining players such as Castellanos has to become the priority.

Jarrod Bowen committing his future to the club was a huge statement, while Claret & Hugh has already reported on the club’s determination to keep Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Personally, I’d add Castellanos to that list every single time.

Nuno Has Already Made His Position Clear

I thought we saw exactly why during West Ham’s 5-0 win over Stevenage.

Yes, Castellanos got himself on the scoresheet, but it was everything else that impressed me just as much. His willingness to drop deep, link the play and bring others into the game showed exactly the sort of all-round performance that could make him one of the Championship’s standout forwards.

Granted, it was League One opposition, so we shouldn’t get carried away. But the attributes he displayed are precisely the sort that should translate into the Championship.

Nuno Espírito Santo has already made his thinking perfectly clear.

“We have valued players, quality players that for sure attract attention from other clubs all over the world, but the commitment that we have here has to be stronger than any proposal. It’s a challenge for us. Retaining players is vital for the club.”

For me, those words sum up exactly where West Ham should be this summer.

The club have already made the difficult sales we needed to make.

Now it’s about keeping hold of the players who can fire West Ham straight back to the Premier League and ignore interest from Moyes boys.