Milik, Paulo And Piatek Join Irons Hit List

The problem clubs have when they sell a high profile player, is that all the other clubs know that (a) there is a need to replace the player, and (b) that the club has funds available from the sale, which means that selling clubs crank up the price of possible acquisitions, West Ham are not alone in experiencing this situation.

Sebastien Haller's 'sudden' transfer to Ajax has left Hammers down to the 'arry redknapps', or bare bones for those not in the know, outsiders will conclude that following the transfer David Moyes will have money burning a hole in his pocket that he just can't wait to spend on a replacement striker, after all £20 Million is a lot of money.

Unfortunately this is NOT the case, the transfer fee for Haller is due to be paid in instalments by Ajax, meaning the club only receive an initial payment of around £5 Million, with the rest paid at £5 Million per year for the next three years, hardly a windfall!

So all the media talk of West Ham looking at this player and that player is hot air, with a large grain of salt thrown in, ANY deal that the club complete will essentially be dictated by the financial terms that are agreed, in West Ham's case that means spreading the payments over a long period of time for potential permanent signings, or failing that loan deals with an option to buy, which is the club's preferred business method of late.

There are however difficulties even in arranging loan deals, due to the fact that the Irons already have two players on loan, the maximum amount permissible being two. Said Benrahma and Craig Dawson are both on loan from Brentford for the former and Watford for the latter, making either or both of the deals permanent would free up the vital loan spaces.

Completing Benrahma's deal would involve a second medical and also the club paying over a hefty wedge of money, that seems unlikely given the club's current financial plight, so perhaps making Dawson's loan deal permanent might be the way forward. The original loan deal for Dawson included an option to buy the player for £1 Million, it is an option that the club will probable exercise early, the only slight issue being Dawson's propensity for 'collapsing' early on in games, perhaps Hammers vastly experienced medical team might want to take a closer look before the club pulls the trigger for a permanent deal.

Fluminese's Marcos Paulo, Napoli's Arkadiusz Milikand Hertha Berlin's Krzysztof Piatek, are the most recent names added to the 'Hammers are interested in' list, the one thing they all have in common is that they are relatively CHEAP, that is not to say that they are bad players, but possibly good players in bad situations. We will be running a feature on them, following this article. - Ed Jnr