Forum | General Discussion

With less than a week to go before the European transfer window closes events are starting to accelerate as Hammers iron out their policy with regards to their strikers, ironically most fans assumed that Marko Arnoutovic will be the big name departure from the club during this window, however it appears nothing can be further from the truth. Word coming out from the Rush Green training camp is that 'Arnie' has knuckled down to training having had a 'clear the air, heart to heart with Manuel Pellegrini.

It is understood that Arnoutovic has accepted Pelle's word that the Austrian striker will be allowed to leave the club at the end of the season unless an offer that meets the club's valuation arrives, the player who doesn't want to stay is Javier Hernandez. With all the fuss about Arnoutovic, Chicharito's actions seem to have gone unnoticed, if 'Arnie' had agreed terms with another club ahead of a transfer there would have been all hell to pay but Hernandez's 'agreement' with Spanish club Valencia is common knowledge.

The fact that Hernandez is prepared to take a pay cut is widely seen as a firm indication that he will be on his way sooner rather than later, Manuel Pellegrini would prefer to keep him at the club but by freeing up the player's massive wage could generate the funds he needs to bring in another striker. Hammers are highly unlikely to recoup the fee they paid Bayer Leverkusen or anywhere near it, Hernandez's main sutors and the club he has a 'pre-deal' with Valencia wanted to take him on loan initially, but that offer was firmly refused by West Ham. However according to Spanish media outlets including the generally reliable La Marca, Valencia have upped the ante by making a firm offer to take Hernandez on a permanent basis.

There is a bit of a problem though, because Valencia's offer is only €8 Million whereas Hammers are demanding €12-14 Million, and any hopes of a 'bidding war' between Valencia and Monaco, who were also interested in the player, have evaporated due to manager Thierry Henri's sacking.

It is not only Chicharito standing next to the revolving door, Andy Carroll is also in the last gasp saloon however in his case there is a rumour that the club are going to see if the impossible happens, ie that Carroll stays fit, if that was the case the club would activate the two year option they have, and then sell him on recouping a least a small amount of the huge money he has cost the club.

Of course the elephant in the room is the Maxi Gomez situation, if Chicho' does go, then Hammers might just 'look behind the sofa' and find the funds in the short term to activate his buy out clause of €45 Million, if that did happen the seventh place finish coveted by Pellegrini in order to get the club in to European competition would probably be guaranteed. If Gomez doesn't arrive during this window he is pretty nailed down to arrive in the summer, the question is what other strikers will still be at the club? - Ed

During the January transfer window, this one has a countdown on the right hand side of the site, fans generally feela mixture of hope and fear, more trepidation than anticipation. The Arnoutovic story has 'blown' most other strories about West Ham out of the picture, but 'stuff' is still going on, most notably the situation regarding Javier Hernandez, Hammers highest paid player.

It has been suggested that a fee of around 14 Million Euros is being requested for the permanent transfer of the Mexican whose time at the London Stadium can hardly be described as a stunning success, Valencia in Spain are really keen to have Hernandez join them and he has already discussed terms with them, but initially Valencia only wanted a loan deal with an option to buy, Hammers are unwilling to let Hernandez go until they have a replacement 'firmed up', and the club would definitely not countenence a loan deal, only a permanent one.

Valencia are determined to land a forward this window, with Michy Batshuayi's disappointing loan deal at the club set to be cut short, Batshuayi was due to spend the entire season on loan but he scored just three goals in 23 appearances for Valencia before his deal was cut short last week. The Belgium international is back at Chelsea but now looks set for another loan, this time to Ligue 1 side Monaco, Hammers having passed over the opportunity to take him to the London Stadium despite being really keen for his services a couple of seasons ago.

Removing Chicharito from the wages bill would free up money for other players, but Manuel Pellegrini will be wary that the Arnoutovic situation might flare up again due to the Chinese transfer window closing one month after the European window. Bargains are rarely had during the January window, but Hammers could technically end up without both their 'top' strikers unless the 'Husse' has got a cunning plan up his sleeve. -Ed

Having had his head turned by a lucrative offer from China that has now been withdrawn, Marko Arnoutovic's future at West Ham is up in the air. Hammers vastly experienced manager Manuel Pellegrini has stated that 'Arnie' was not selected for the Bournemouth debacle because his head wasn't in the right place, which is a very polite way of saying his head is stuck up his back side!

There is talk that Arnoutovic will be reintegrated with the rest of the squad ahead of the away FA Cup fixture against AFC Wimbledon, who are incidentally managed by ex-hammers youth coach Wally Downes. The logic being there will be fewer than a thousand Hammers fans at the game, and if there is going to be any backlash from the Arnoutovic transfer saga it is better that it occurs away from The London Stadium.

Things are rarely as they seem, especially at West Ham, the Chinese transfer window stays open a month longer than the European one which closes in ten days, so there is plenty of time for Arnie's brother to resurrect a deal with a Chinese club. It is for this reason that Hammers are actively pursuing a deal to bring Maxi Gomez to the London Stadium, the hope is that a pre-deal can be struck for Gomez with him joining up in the summer. However that situation relies upon Arnoutovic staying at the club until the summer as well, and reading between the lines there seems to be a general concencus that Arnie might go full strop about being denied a move, that is why the club are trying to push ahead with the Gomez deal on two fronts.

There is always a tendency when a player wants out for fans to say "Stick him in the reserves and tell his suitors to bugger off until we are ready to sell", unfortunately that course of action may have worked in the past but not anymore, super wealthy clubs can afford to do that but the rest just cannot afford to play hard ball, as was the case when Dimitri Payer went on strike to push through the move to Marseille that he wanted. Pellegrini has already accepted Arnoutovic will be gone sooner or later, and is therefore following up deals for several players in anticipation of the event.

It should be remembered that Arnoutovic was not a Pellegrini signing, and as such doesn't owe the Chilean the same sort of loyalty that Issa Diop and Felipe Anderson show. Despite hoping that the dust will settle, most fans will share Pellegrini's opinion and are preparing for their side to be bereft of yet another talisman, never mind, the club still has Andy Carroll or do they? - Ed

Sooner or later a catastrophic injury list and a lead player going AWOL was always going to impact on West Ham United sooner or later, in fact Hammers achievements of late have been nothing short of miraculous given the circumstances but this was another game too far for Manuel Pellegrini's beleagured squad. To have so many first team players missing through injury was bad enough, but to then have Marko Arnoutovic go 'all peacock' was the straw that broke a most resolute camel's back!

Unfortunately playing like camels is probably is an accurate description of Hammers' performance and sums up a lamentable application of 'Pelle's' game plan, Bournemouth were 'at it' from the get go and made the visitors look leggy throughout the game. Samir Nasri played well but the travails of the last two games seemed to have caught up with him, which is only to be expected given the massive amount of time that he has been out of the game.

This was not an inspiring performance and once again Bournemouth proved to be Hammers nemesis, there is no point in beating top opposition like Arsenal only to go and throw the impetus of success away by losing to a team that had barely managed a point in their last six games.

The sooner the 'Arnie' situation is resolved the better, because already the negative effect of having the 'main man' want out seems to be gaining ground. - Ed