Forum | General Discussion

Finally it appears as if West Ham have managed to break their self imposed transfer embargo, the frenzied activity of the last few days seem to finally be paying off as the club looks forward to welcoming the off the radar loan signing of Liverpool's Divock Origi to its ranks. It may not be the marquee type of signing fans wanted, more of a one man tent, but at least it is a bit of fresh blood to liven up the squad.

This will be the last transfer window that Hammers go into with one arm tied behind their backs, as the fall out form David Moyes's predecessor Manuel Pellegtini's excesses will finally draw to a close. Just starting with a fresh slate will be an inspiration to Moyes, who has had to somehow negotiate his way forward while being manacled by the incredibly unbalanced squad he inherited.

One by one Pellegrini's signings are exiting the club, leaving only Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop and Pablo Fornals remaining. The amount of money wasted by the Chilean, who now incidentally manages Real Betis on a shoe string, was nothing short of criminal with the club continuing to pay for his extravagancies.

Origi's availability has only just been confirmed, following the Anfield outfit's capture of Luis Diaz from Porto, so this one will take a bit of doing, but it is far more practical than pursuing players who are owned by clubs unwilling to sell during this window. The fact that David Sullivan's old mucker Will Salthouse is Origi's agent should be the banker, but then nothing is guaranteed until the player has signed on the dotted line.

Next season all that will change, UNFORTUNATELY the golden opportunity the last two seasons have presented Hammers to gatecrash the top four will NOT present itself again for some considerable time, so unless the club can pull off some seismic deals during the remaining ELEVEN HOURS, it might be a case of what might have been. - LN

In the last 24 hours it has been confirmed that West Ham have submitted 'competitively' priced bids to no less than THREE clubs in their hunt for a striker, that figure excludes the numerous bids submitted for players in other positions. We will leave the recriminations as to who and why the purported transfers have come so far down the line, without any tangible fruition.

Having seen 'strange' £50 Million bids for Leeds duo Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips rejected early yesterday morning Hammers 'suddenly' switched their hunt for fire power by slinging in a 'cheeky' £40 Million bid for Benfica's Darwin Nunez. However the club face a difficult task negotiating a deal with Benfica to sign the Uruguayan striker before the transfer deadline tonight, as the player is currently representing Uruguay in the South American World Cup qualifiers, so getting the stringent medical required before 11PM GMT is pushing the bounds of reality!.

Nunez is the type of player Hammers fans have dreamt of arriving at the club, he is in an entirely different league to the usual 'duffers' that rock up on deadline day. His $140 Million release clause shows just how highly prized he is, but as is the case with the vast majority of footballers plying their trade in Portugal, is on ludicrously LOW wages, so agreeing personal, terms is the least of the club's worries.

IF this one can be completed today, fans will look on this window as a piece of slick manoeuvring, if it doesn't there will be feelings that it is the same old West Ham 'song of failure' they have heard often before, only this time with different lyrics! - LN

Barring a last minute hitch, nowadays more commonly known as a late bid from Newcastle, long term David Moyes target Duje Ćaleta-Car is scheduled to fly in to London for his medical ahead of a PERMANENT move from Olympique Marseille.

Hammers will pay an initial £14 Million with a further £4 Million in add ons, Ćaleta-Car will be signing a four year deal on a basic wage of £80,000 per week, double that which he currently receives at Marseille. The 25 year old Croatian International will slot straight in at the centre of defence alongside Kurt Zouma and provide Hammers with a more steely back bone.

The deal has not been finalised as yet but Duje Ćaleta-Car is heading to West Ham and should sail through his medical, unfortunately Hammers other Marseille player who was of interest, Bamba Dieng is staying put though, with Marseille having just knocked back an attractive offer from Turkey because the player and his agent were not interested in moving to a 'lesser' League.

With any transfer there is a degree of jeopardy involved, but Ćaleta-Car has been a consistant performer season in season out and DOES represent an upgrade on Craig Dawson and the Issa Diop of now, as opposed the Issa Diop who first arrrived at the club and was imperious when playing alongside the 'General', Fabian Balbuena.

Why the club ever sold Balbuena is beyond us, he could have earned the club the extra points between European qualification and NOT, doubtless there were reasons that he was sold. If Ćaleta-Car arrives in time it could make the difference. -Ed

They might be the biggest club in the World from a global recognition and branding point of view, but Manchester United have admitted defeat when it comes to this season's Premier League title and are desperately trying to finish ahead of the following pack, so much so that they have admitted they will not do any business with West Ham regarding Jesse Lingard because they regard West Ham as direct competitors in the race for the Champions League places.

There is a certain irony in the fact that David Moyes was unceremoniously dispensed with by the Old Trafford club after succeeding Alex Ferguson as manager, yet here he is, operating on a fraction of their budget but threatening to derail their European aspirations!

Although it is messing with his transfer plans, secretly Moyes must allow himself a wry smile at how his former employers are running scared of the club he has given a new identity to, however the person who's transfer plans are most messed up is the player himself.

Jesse Lingard has been with Manchester United for over 22 YEARS, man and boy! That is an astonishing amount of time and surely deserving of some respect from the club he has served for so long, Utd's already tarnished reputation, due to their ill fated attempt at a breakaway Super League, will be dragged further through the mud as a result of their treatment of a truly loyal servant.

Shame on them! LN