No more Arsenal Rejects Please-Lacazette!

In 2016 West Ham's then manager Slaven Bilic tried to sign Alexandre Lacazette, negotiations were protracted given the huge fee involved, as is so often the case Hammers tried to low ball the selling club and as a result another team pipped the club to the post evenytually.

A massive offer from the Irons of £42.7 Million was made for the Frenchman, this being only a couple of weeks after the club’s transfer record purchase of Andre Ayew. for £20.5 Million. Lacazette was 25 at the time and in his prime he was therefore very choosy as to where and when he would go, eventually after nearly a year of indecision he chose to join up with his compatriot, Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, for a fee of £46 Million.

Fair play to Lacazette for 'following his heart', as well as his wallet! The player has performed well for Hammers North London rivals over the years but now, at the age of 30 his contract has been allowed to enter it's final year without renewal.
Lacazette's availability has tweaked the interest of several high profile clubs, including Atletico Madrid and supposedly West Ham! Crystal Palace have also expressed an interest in acquiring the forward who reportedly earns an eye watering £183,000 per week at the Emirates, too rich for Palace and too rich for West Ham as well.

David Moyes does need a traditional number nine going forward in addition to Michail Antonio, who is currently the joint top ranked striker in all of Europe, but Lacazette represents a step backward and a path towards the retro thinking so beloved in the past by the Hammers board.

OK, he could be available on a free if he isn't suddenly offered a new contract by Arsenal, however he is 30 years old and on humongous wages, the only way David Moyes would sanction such a deal would be if the player took a 50% hit on his wages, Palace are so keen to show improvement under their new French manager that they will probably agree to stump up a ridiculous salary for Lacazette, EXACTLY what West Ham would have done in the past!

Under David Moyes the club has moved on from emergency 'band aid' signings, old player on big money always represent a risk, and for Moyes, Lacazette definitely represents a risk. Admittedly there is now a significant Gallic presence at the club in the form of Kurt Zouma and Alphonse Areola, as well French speaking Authur Masuaku and Said Benrahma. However the pluses don't outweigh the minuses of going for Lacazette, a fine player who might possibly do well at the London Bowl, but it is highly unlikely that he would be prepared to take the significant drop in wages that would be required.

If he does for some strange reason actually end up at the club by accepting a huge drop in his wages, then perhaps he COULD be an ideal signing, but it should also be remembered that he rejected joining West Ham not once, but twice before, and anyway hasn't the club had enough of signing other team's rejects? LN