Homegrown Confusion On Gomes & Gomez Bids

Perhaps a little more attention to impending rule changes might help fans understand West Ham United's transfer activity, or the lack of it. Manuel Pellegrini has told Sky Sports he has a dilemma over satisfying the homegrown player quota which could shape his transfer plans. “You must be calm and try to choose your best option because if you make a mistake in the squad in this season you are going to pay in the whole year,” Pellegrini told Sky Sports.“You can have just 17 foreign players, we must have eight English players, we will see which of them can go, which options we have to come.”

Homegrown player rule explained
To be ‘homegrown’ a player must be registered with an English team for three years before the age of 21. Hammers fans will be hoping that doesn’t mean the likes of Sam Byram and Jordan Hugill are kept on just for the sake of hitting the homegrown player quota. One player who does fill one of those spaces is Andy Carroll and he looks set to leave. Another is Aaron Cresswell who is also reportedly being considered for sale. If Cresswell is sold then West Ham are left with just seven players fitting the homegrown criteria.

So future player purchases will be affected sooner rather than later, realistically it should be noted there has been little talk from either Manuel Pellegrini nor Mario Husillos about the potential signing of either Maxi Gomez from Celta Vigo or Andre Gomes from Barcelona. One outcome that is guaranteed is that there is no way both of the players could conceivably arrive at the London Stadium, the reported meagre £30 Million net kitty cannot stretch to that, even if you include some very clever accounting like most of the 'top' clubs do.

West Ham United have also reportedly had a bid for Lorient attacker Alexis Claude-Maurice turned down, it is unlikely Hammers will return with another offer. Until Pellegrini and Husillos can offload a whole heap of inherited dross, the signing of players like Maxi Gomez are for now just a pipe dream, paradoxically a wholesale clear out might be a breath of fresh, air but it might also leave the club's squad dangerously exposed to a potential crisis if players pick up injuries on a par with the season that has just finished. - Ed