Between A Rock And A Hard Place: Rice, Diangana & Fornals

According to the Telegraph West Brom have had a bid of £12 Million for Grady Diangana accepted by West Ham United, more news to follow Normally, well at least for the last ten years, West Ham fans have become accustomed to the usual "We've backed the manager to the hilt, but in order to comply with FFP we are unable to fund any more acquisitions without player departures". This season is different in many ways, obviously the Covid-19 Pandemic has had an acute effect on club finances right across the board, however in order to 'negate' the issue of short term financial difficulty FFP has been suspended for TWELVE months!

So the old FFP chestnut cannot be rolled out as an excuse for a lack of investment, in fact a quick and envious glance at most of the other teams in the Barclays Premier League, and indeed particularly those who have just been promoted from the Championship, reveals 'significant' player acquisitions and further intent. So what are the options for David Moyes and the West Ham board? The sell to buy mantra is falling on the 'deaf ears' of most fans who cannot believe the club's lack of transfer activity compared to everyone else's.

If, and it is a very big if, there is NO money available then the club's options are clear, (a) * The fans' favourite choice, the co-owners sell the club (b) The club sells Pablo Fornals (c) **The club sells Grady Diangana (d) The Doomsday option, the club sells Declan Rice. Sadly option (a) Isn't going to happen any time soon, if at all, option (b) the sale of Fornals would generate much needed funds, however his value will be so much higher next season, the same applies to option (c) The sale of Grady Diangana, Grady is another player who will only go up in value, selling him now will be a short term benefit but a long term loss.

Finally we reach the Doomsday option, the sale of Declan Rice. Ahead of discussing Declan's possible departure from the club, it is worth thinking about what would happen if Fornals and Diangana were sold, their combined sale would release around £40-45 Million. David Moyes could use up every penny in order to fill the gaping chasm that is the Hammers defence, the need for two full backs is clearly obvious as is the need for a back up striker and a midfield enforcer.

Of course the beginning of the season is just a few days away, although the transfer window has uniquely been extended until 11pm on Monday 5th October 2020 for clubs to complete their dealings, however, Premier League and EFL clubs will have an extended exclusive window from 5th October until 11pm on the 16th October. During this period, only transfer deals between one Premier League and one EFL club can take place. Premier League teams cannot do deals with each other or foreign clubs in this time.

So, with around five weeks left in the window there is still plenty of time for things to happen, unfortunately most of the early 'bargains' have already been snapped up, consequently the next phase of the window is usually all about 'brinkmanship' and who blinks first. West Ham will probably sell Rice, it is only a question of when not if, but it would be a business 'folly' of the highest order if the club's hierarchy accept anything less than Rice's true value which is around £80 Million, talk of Chelsea knowing that West Ham will eventually crack and thereby lower their price is common place.

Rice isn't too good for West Ham, he is in the mould of Rio Ferdinand, and where might the Irons be if they hadn't taken the 'shilling' from Leeds United when they sold Rio for £18 Million? Of course Leeds then nearly doubled their investment when they sold him to Manchester United! Business is business, and if the club end up selling their prized asset, it had better be for top dollar otherwise there will be hell to pay, when you are stuck between a rock and a hard place sometimes there is no where else to go other than the fastest exit. -Ed