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West Ham United's Albian Ajeti is currently under going a medical ahead of a permanent £5 Million deal to join serial Scottish Champions Celtic.
The on off move gathered momentum after The Hoops manager Neil Lennon personally intervened in order to bring things to fruition, several issues had to be addressed before the player and his representatives would commit to the transfer, principally that they wanted the transfer to be a permanent one as opposed to the one year loan with option to buy that Celtic were seeking.

In addition to the deal's structure was an 'agreement' with regards to first team appearance opportunities, apparently that was mattered more than money or term of contract, to the Swiss International who really didn't get a fair crack of the whip during his one season at the London Stadium.

Acquired from Basle for £8 Million, Ajeti was supposed to be a back up striker to Hammer's record signing Sebastien Haller, unfortunately due to Haller's less than impressive form, Ajeti was never able to be realistically called upon becuse the need for goals was so desperate the club had to rely on Michail Antonio, the Beast, to step in and subsidise Haller's apparent ineptitude.

Of course the glaring error of trying to play Haller up front on his own in the most competitive and ferocious league in the World, compounded Ajeti's lack of opportunity, consequently he found himself with a virtually impossible route on to the first team. He knew the club wouldn't countenance selling Haller given the enormous financial hit they would take if they tried to sell him in the current fiscal climate, he would also have realised that Michail Antonio would be the main man, backed up by Seb Haller, consequently his chances of making the first team proper would be between zero and none.

Although money is desperately tight for David Moyes to even sniff at new transfers, it is believed Moyes and the club's hierarchy would have preferred not to have received the relatively paltry fee of £5 Million, which represents a £3 Million loss over one year, apparently they would have preferred Ajeti to spend one season on loan at the Scottish club in order for his value to increase due to the different level of the League across the border. it was hoped that if he had a really good season with Celtic that his value would increase beyond the original fee paid for him,
and much more!

Alas it was not to be, but Ajeti will feel a bit hard done by when he casts his eyes on some members of the first team squad, especially those who really deserve to be there less than he does, we are sure all Hammers fans will wish him well, after all it wasn't really his fault to have been bamboozled' by the 'Pellegrinophile' everyone else was ! - Ed

Let's make no mistake, without Michail Antonio's goals West Ham would more than likely have been relegated from the Barclays Premier League this season, the 30 year old as just enjoyed the best season of his career at the club and is moving in to the final year of his contract, one which however has an option for the club to extend the deal by a further twelve months. 'Big Mick' currently earns a not too disrespectful £65,000 per week, OK it is not in the stratospherically insane bracket as Yarmolenko and particularly Jack Wilshere, but it's still a decent salary.

News that the club want to offer Antonio a new deal in the light of his recent performances has had mixed reactions ( please visit some of the other Hammers sites for a cut and paste of people's social media comments). Sure he needs to be treated well by the club but really? A new enhanced deal for an injury prone player in their 30's? Surely by now the club MUST have learned that handing players extended contracts on big money as they approach the end of their careers is financial suicide, and that is before the fiscal deprivation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is factored in!

According to Deloytes the top flight football industry faces the minimum of a 40% reduction in it's income, and that is the minimum. Consequently new deals should be put in place with the fiscal constraints well in focus, essentially when once a club were willing to offer £100,000 per week they should now only offer £60,000 at the most. To offer Antonio an extra year on his current wages would be more than generous in the current climate, don't forget Winston Reid was handed a 'cushty' five year deal on £80,000 a week to 'reward' him, and look how that has panned out.

It is unfair to pick on Reid alone though, for some weird reason the club, under various owners, has repeatedly stitched itself up by handing out 'charity' deals, and love him as much as fans do, he is only one tackle away from a lenghty spell on the sidelines, his all action style is a lot for his body to deal with despite having thighs the size of the Severn Bridge!

If the club offered Michail Antonio an extended contract on the same wage but with a goal scoring incentive, then we reckon he'd be more than happy, truth is that in private he would sign a deal for half of what he is offered, don't forget how hard he fought to be playing in the top flight, he just loves playing, and to get paid well for it as well is an added bonus a this stage in his career. - Ed

With the start of the Barclays Premier League a little over a month away, key decisions need to be made by clubs as to how they will set their stall out for the coming season, not least of which are West Ham United. With 'money too tight to mention' probably being played in the background of the regular hierarchic meetings that take place between manager, co-owners and sun mouth piece to discuss budgetary constraints and player movements, 'the need for speed' with regards to the future of the club's prize assets is paramount.

It is clear to see that under the hypnosis induced by 'Pellegriniman' that the club over extended itself by making some questionable player acquisitions, a couple were OK, but their were also too many 'pups' as well, the folly of having tried to 'go large' has been exasperated by the financial fall out over the Covid-19 pandemic. The 'big' buys and acquisitions players that haven't really cut the mustard since arriving at the London Stadium are going to be hard to shift on, any hopes of recouping their original fees are long gone due to poor form and the fact that global prices for players are down by at least 40%.

If the club had been relegated, the situation would have been catastrophic, so dealing with all the current problems, despite their gravity, is still a 'whole lot better' than it could have been. That said there are some crucial decisions to be made regarding Hammers burgeoning group of promising youngsters, and how best to utilise their value to the club. Clearly there are few funds available to bring in new talent, and those that are available have already been earmarked, so the only option is to promote from within, and West Ham United are fortunate in that their current crop of young players contain more than a few gems.

At least one high priced and high earning 'galactico' has to leave the club in order to free up some space and money, with the likes of Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini all being actively 'touted' as well as Aaron Cresswell, Ryan Fredericks, Fabian Balbuena and of course Jack Wilshere!

Apart from Declan Rice, Grady Diangana is the youngster most coveted by other teams, at times it seems half the clubs in the country want his services and are keen to test the water about a possible transfer. Now, David Moyes is no mug, and has a very respectable track record of bringing in youth players throughout his entire career as a manager, when speaking about Diangana Moyes knows how good the youngster is now, but more importantly how great he can become in the future.

Even if the club were offered between £15-20 Million for the dynamic and versatile Grady Diangana, it would be a short term financial gain that the club would regret from day one, all attempts must be made to keep him happy, and nothing keeps a young player happy more than being given proper game time and not just cameo's from the bench, that and cash as well!

The need for the club to acquire two new full backs is blatantly obvious, but selling a bright star of the future like Grady Dianaga to fund such players would be a Pyrrhic victory that the club would regret, long and hard. Everyone knows some players will have to go, but not Rice or Diangana it would just be too short sighted and paradoxically end up being very costly. - Ed

Players not involved in European cup competitions are now enjoying a further two week break before returning from their shortened holidays in order to prepare for the start of the new season on September 12th, consequently much of the transfer gossip is exactly that, gossip and rumour.

Journalists do however try to attain at least some degree of credibility by using information that is freely available combined with a 'flexible' approach to the truth, hence the journo adage 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story'! Once West Ham were clear of relegation, David Moyes, in his second tenure as manager, was able to take a look at a couple of prospective acquisitions, one of whom was Eberechi Eze.

Crystal Palace have already had a 'low ball' offer knocked back for Eze which was believed to be around £8 Million with 'unrealistic add ons' that would have pushed the price up to £12 Million, not enough for QPR who obviously want to get top dollar for their prize asset in order to fund new arrivals.

This sequence of events has put Hammers in the driving seat although there has been no official offer from the Irons for Eze. As we have stated before, the much maligned Jordan Hugill, who arrived costing £10 Million from Preston North End during Moyes' first spell, has had a very good season on loan at Loftus Road and is seen as a useful player for the West London outfit.

Due to the financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, clubs are having to get more creative with their player acquisitions and a swap deal involving Eze, Hugill and a bunch of cash could be the ideal outcome that also allows both clubs to 'save face'. Technically QPR can attain the £20 Million they want for Eze by taking Hugill in part exchange and accepting a further payment of between £8-10 Million, we are not accountants at the Org, but have been advised by a professional that with some clever but legal manipulation of the way the deal is structured, all parties involved would emerge content.

There is just very little money around unless clubs are in Europe, and even then values have dropped by at least 40%, part exchanges and loan deals will predominate transfers once they actually start to be confirmed. Unless one of the 'top six' come in for him, Eze will be a Hammer, sooner or later. - Ed