Hammers pursuit of more firepower to help enliven the club's faltering Champions League aspirations is about to come up against 'contract impasses', with TWO of their principal targets BOTH in the final year of their contracts being made available by their clubs, however each of those clubs are demanding INSANE fees for players who can walk away on a free transfer at the beginning of June.
David Moyes pursuit of Manchester United's Jesse Lingard has taken on a 'wuthering heights' (the Kate Bush version) aura, "come home Jesse" is the message emanating from Moyes to 'his boy', United are prepared to call the West Ham manager's bluff knowing full well that Newcastle are there to up the bidding stakes.
The Toon will have to offer Lingard a King's ransom for him to join their relegation scrap, but then again they can afford it! Whether Jesse wants to ploy his trade at St James Park is another issue entirely, he is already a wealthy man who has invested wisely, so money whilst important is not the driving force motivating his decision making process, that is down to his dad instead!
£20 Million For Lingard-Humorous Giraffe? Yes, that is the value placed on Lingard by his current club, it represents a conundrum for Moyes as it adds further to the 'complicated steps' the club has to take in order to secure a much sought after target.
At the same time as pursuing Lingard, Rob Newman and David Moyes have been 'reaching out' to Divock Origi, the 26 year old Liverpool striker is also in the final year of his contract and like Utd his club are demanding an unrealistic price, in his case an eye watering £25 Million!
So what is best for West Ham? Secure BOTH players for around £45 Million in transfer fees on a combined wage total that is LESS than has been paid to Andriy Yarmolenko and Winston Reid? Or wait until they are available on free transfers? Firstly there is no such thing as a FREE transfer, there are agent fees and signing on fees to pay, wages are also inherently higher for (sic) 'free' signings. Secondly there will be a HUGE amount of clubs willing to pay good wages, signing on fees and greedy agent fees in order to secure one or BOTH of these players, so Hammers have to strike while the Irons are hot!
£45 Million is a massive outlay, but the word massive should be a clue, to be massive, you must think massive and offset cost against potential reward. Qualifying for the Champions League proper is worth between £25 Million and £60 Million depending how far a club progresses, it could be argued that the club might also qualify via the Europa League Cup, but acquiring Origi and Lingard in January would also enhance THAT prospect.
It's a complicated issue, but if thought through carefully could give the club that extra bounce required to sustain a top four place. ED
Comments
Newcastle are the next big
Newcastle are the next big thing. Anyone with half a sweed knows that. I expect Lingard to go there, because they will win things. Relegation is a mere bagatelle...
Imo
It's a no brainer,lingard & origa for 45 mill.they both have more goals in them combined than the shower we've had up front for a decade.apparently ( if you believe the media BS) we are in for this craig David geezer from France for 45 mill!! So what is the biggest punt?as for lingard going to the geordies,does he go to a club that he knows & loved for a short period,or to a club that is in a relegation battle & their loyal fans are getting more & more restless with every shocking display by them
Origi
Hardly prolific is he! Roughly a goal every 5 games. Even Carlton Cole had a better track record than that and he should been done under the trade descriptions act for calling himself a striker
It was a joke Deluded!
If you think Le Sulk wasn't played in the right system,didn't get enough service & is a prolific scorer in a 2 bob group in the champions league then thats your opinion mate
To be fair Origi seldom gets
To be fair Origi seldom gets a look in at Liverpool. I actually think he could be what we need surrounded by Fornals, Bowen, Benrahma, Lanzini, Rice Soucek - Antonio of course.
I think he could be a regular goalscorer..
Agree Boogers
At least he has experience of the prem & if he averages 1 goal every 5 games that's better than we've got at the moment! ;)
lol just read the spuds have forfeited their Europa Cup place,couldn't have happened to a nicer set of fans!
Well Haller
Averaged roughly a goal every five games whilst with us and he wasn't exactly a favourite of the fans and he scores goals for fun everywhere else
Origi is a conundrum. He
Origi is a conundrum. He plays for a top team who win things. He is a favourite of Klopp. Still only 26 and remaining injury free for the most part. The question he will ask himself is, do I need a fresh challenge? He will always get game time, although not an awful lot. He will be used more I think when Salah goes to the African Nations Cup, Covid permitting.
He will put a shift in also, something Le merde never did. If he had tried harder or looked up running in the dictionary and the definition of it, things may have been different. We will never know...
So you have one player
Who tries hard and runs around and scores 1 goal in five or another player who doesn't expend unnecessary energy who also scores 1 goal in five. End result is the same.
I'm not sure
Both of those descriptions apply to Le Sulk,like I say you are entitled to your opinion but for me after supporting westham for 56 years & seeing a hell of a lot of dross...Haller tops the lot & the most expensive one too
Haller, worse than
Maiga, Zaza, Mido, McCarthy, Carew, Jelavic, Hales, MacDougal, Radford? And they're just ones off the top of my head
They were all shite granted
Especially ZaZa,he had a shot 'on goal' that did actually hit the corner flag!! But he was on loan if I remember? Derek Hales used to put himself about a bit,speedie,Chapman, that's a couple of others....but how much did the above cost?? I've seen better players than Haller over Hackney marshes,who only got paid a pie & a pint after the game!!
Well said 65,dross and plenty
Well said 65,dross and plenty of it over the years,Haller wears the crown in recent times,45 mill in todays football climate is nothing,and certainly would inject competition for first team places,so would definitely enhance our chances of winning.