Sakho Update

The troubled enigma that is Diafra Sakho has an agent named Mark Mc Kay, son of the legendary (at least to the tax authorities) football agent Willie Mc Kay, Mc Kay Jnr also represents Dimitri Payet. West Ham fans will recall Jacques Olivier Auguste (Dimi's french agent) spitting his dummy out when Dimitri had the temerity to actually say something about how happy and content he was at West Ham United, without the permission of his agent! Heaven forbid trusting a player to do the 'right' thing heh?, well Mark Mc Kay has no such worries with 'the Sakman'. Sakho has disappeared off the radar since his refusal to join up for the pre-season friendlies in Europe and his ultimately unsuccessful transfer to West Bromwich Albion which failed due to an ongoing back problem, again with apparently as the suffix!
Rewind to when Diafra Sakho arrived from Metz, he was unbelievably keen to join the club and (here's the 'A' word again) apparently was in tears when first it seemed the transfer would not go ahead, because Big Sam 'didn't fancy' him. The deal eventually only got over the line due to the direct intervention of Hammers' co-owner and majority share holder David Sullivan, who was so convinced of Sakho's potential and what good value the deal might be that he turned what was going to be a loan deal in to a permanent transfer straight away instead. Sakho arrived at the Old Boleyn and instantly became a fans favourite , despite always looking moody, by equaling the premier league record for consecutive goals scored. Then followed the injury while away on International duty that many believe he never fully recovered from, an injury that has had a knock on effect resulting in the need for thigh surgery and a whole host of other fitness issues, these along with well documented private life problems and too much time on his own, have compounded his depressed state. During his state of depression the club, mistakenly in many people's opinion, went OTT on announcing their intentions of signing a 'marquee' striker as part of the brave new footballing world about to be launched from the London Stadium, probably not what you want to hear while your own footballing world is disintegrating. It should be remembered that on his last return from injury 'Sakman' was quoted as saying he still hoped to get between 15-20 goals, and he meant it!
So what's happened? Clearly, rightly or wrongly, the player feels second or third choice and unwanted, the opposite to when he first arrived. The move to West Brom might have been the best resolution for all parties, alas it was not to be, so where do the club, the player and more importantly his agent go from here? We have tried to contact Mark Mc Kay about the situation but it seems the club have 'stonewalled' the situation and lips are sealed around the board, however a colleague in France has indicated that french speaking Sakho has told his old team mates at Metz that he just wants to do the only thing that makes him happy, play football. Apparently he hinted that he was going to have a 'clear the air' lunch with current West Ham manager Slaven Billic during the International break and was still hopeful of resurrecting his career at the Olympic Stadium, at least until the transfer window opens again. Here is the update confusion conundrum, what relevance does the transfer window hold for a player who has failed his last medical? The answer is that Diafra Sakho will probably never fully recover from the injury inflicted on him by the Senegalese medical team, an act described at the time by now England manager Sam Allardyce as barbaric. The injury can flare up at any time, a bit like like Demba Ba's supposed exploding knee (never happened), it can be managed and that is all. So in essence Sakho and West Ham are stuck together like it or not, so much depends on the Sakho Billic meeting because Sakho is too good a player to be given the 'Amalfatino' treatment, his spat before the Arsenal match was induced thanks to the now banished Alex Song's stupidity during a very stressful time in Sakho's personal life. It may not be a match made in heaven, but Diafra Sakho remains a West Ham player and might as well be utilised.
It might be hard to feel sympathy for a present day Barclays Premier League footballer given the huge rewards that they receive, but at the end of the day they are human beings and even more fallible given the excesses available to them at such a young age. If he's given a second chance, we believe Sakho will take it, will Slaven Billic offer the olive branch? We can only hope! - Ed