Sometimes it's hard to be a 'realistic' Hammer, the reality of being a mid table team is that the club more often than not has to feed off scraps. So when the next transfer window opens, Tim Steidten will be set the unenviable task of making a 'silk(man) purse out of a sow's ear'!
He will have a bunch of players who have little to no value that he has to move on, while trying to retain the better ones, including the club's 'jewel in the crown' trio of Jarrod Bowen, Mo Kudus and Lucas Paqueta, not forgetting 'El Machin' Alvarez as well!
It is some task that he is facing and one that he will NOT be able to undertake if he has to deal with the interference of 'Dithering' Dave Moyes. That situation should sort itself out with Moyes being appointed manager of HIS club, Celtic. Although you never know with West Ham! But it does seem that David Sullivan has decided that Steidten is going to be the main man when it comes to transfers, an opinion shared by the rest of the board.
IF betting charges against Lucas Paqueta are dropped or if he is found not guilty, the inevitably City will come after him by paying the £85 Million release clause in his contract. Why anyone agreed to such a paltry amount is questionable, but it is what it is!
So biting the reality bullet, Hammers need to extricate as much as they can from any deal involving 'Pacman', in a similar way as the club did with Declan Rice. To that purpose and with FFP in mind both for West Ham AND City, a swap deal involving Grealish and Paqueta makes perfect 'acoounting' sense.
City paid an eye watering £100 Million for Grealish and although he featured prominently for Pep last season, this term he has found his appearances far more limited. Swapping City for West Ham would give him the opportunity to be 'top dog' again. The flip side for Paqueta is that he would go from being 1st on the team sheet when available to being part of an incredible squad where a guaranteed start is definitely NOT guaranteed for anyone!
Financially West Ham would NOT accept a straight swap deal, it is generally believed that City paid over the odds for Grealish who's true value was probably between £60-70 Million, so Hammers would be looking for the player and an additional £10-15 Million for Paqueta, the extra cash being used towards a player like Sporting CP’s attacking midfielder Pedro Goncalves.
In an ideal world Paqueta would stay for one more season, but it would be foolish and imprudent NOT to plan for his departure - Ed
Comments
Not so sure about Grealish or
Not so sure about Grealish or anyone from City. If Pep is happy to let someone go they are obviously damaged goods. We just got stung with Phillips in the January sales!
No thanks
Even worse diver than Paqueta and will have minimal sell on value at 28 years old. I'll take Doku though
A big no for Grealish,peaked
A big no for Grealish,peaked too soon,a has been.
Grealish is a big fish in a
Grealish is a big fish in a big pond. Regardless of game time. Champions League etc. Theres no way he would leave City in my opinion. His profile and media standing, etc means he would probably have to move abroad. It's a non starter, and for those saying they would not have him. Blimey!!!