Forum | Non-Football Related

There are inevitably winners and losers as a result of relegation from the Barclays Premier League, as West Ham supporters know only too well! So the 'vultures' will be circling those clubs already relegated and those who are close to the drop zone, out of Fulham and Huddersfield, the two teams already confirmed as relegated, Fulham represent the best club to 'target' for 'bargains', not that there are any bargains available, merely a shift in price from the exorbitant to just extremely over valued.

With the complete clear out of strikers that is envisaged at the end of the season, committed replacement players will have to be recruited, and while the potential signing of Maxi Gomez has occupied most of the column inches, it is Fulham striker Alexsandar Mitrovic who has emerged as Hammers main target. The irony that will not be lost on supporters is that the pursuit of Gomez was essentially based on Marko Arnautovic's potential departure to China which of course didn't happen, but also on the premise that Celta Vigo, Gomez's current club, were going to be relegated which in turn would reduce Gomez's release clause by 50%.

As it happens the odds on certain sites like bestbettingsites.online for Celta Vigo to be relegated have shifted, whereas Fulham are already down, therefore using their business heads, the Hammers hierarchy have decided to make Mitrovic one of their main targets as opposed to Gomez because it makes more financial sense. The only fly in the ointment being that there are no shortage of suitors for the Serbian player's services, Leicester, Tottenham, Everton, Southampton and even Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande are all interested in acquiring the 24 year old.

Mitrovic is a bit of a rough diamond and does not have a particularly good disciplinary record, when he first arrived in this country following his £13 Million transfer from Anderlecht to Newcastle he managed to get sent off and suspended regularly. In fact on the 30th of August 2017, he was suspended for three matches after an elbow to the head of none other than West Ham's Manuel Lanzini, which was picked up by television cameras. Partly as a result of his 'indiscretions' Mitrovic went out on loan to Fulham during the 2018 January transfer window helping them gain promotion, the Cottagers were so impressed with Mitrovic that they signed him permanently from Newcastle in the summer of 2018 for an initial fee of £22 Million, potentially rising to £27 Million.

Serbian news outlet Sportski Zurnal are running with the story and according to them the deal for Hammers to sign Mitrovic is already in the bag, apparently Mitrovic's premier league experience is what has tipped the scales in his direction and he is seen as an ideal young replacement for Marko Arnautovic. Standing at 1.87 m tall, or 6' 2 " in old money, Mitrovic is a powerful player, much like Arnautovic, but although Fulham are already relegated he won't come cheap, far from it especially given the wealth of the Cottagers' owner. However the dreaded FFP will kick in and despite the owners resources they may well have to sell players to get their wages off the books, Mitrovic currently receives around £70,000 per week, well within Hammers salary structure. There might however be a little bit of 'bad blood' between Fulham and West Ham as a result of the Ryan Fredericks deal which saw the player move across London on a 'free' transfer, the player's decision having severely irked those in control at Craven Cottage.

It isn't nice to benefit from others misfortunes, but as we have already mentioned as a club West Ham United have suffered greatly as a result of relegation, with a certain Mr Levy being one of the main beneficiaries on more than one occasion. Newcastle United, despite their fans perception of owner mike Ashley, actually retained most of their first team squad when they were relegated and as a consequence of keeping most of their players were able to bounce back at the first attempt. Fulham may well do likewise, but as loyalty doesn't exist in the modern game anymore the likelihood of players like Mitrovic leaving is very high, having spent more than West Ham in the preceding summer window Fulham will have at least hoped to have retained their Premier League status and will have looked at what Wolverhampton Wanderers have achieved in their first season in the top flight for many years.

When the final relegation place is decided their will be even more players available, although the relegated clubs receive generous umbrella or parachute payments they generally have to get rid off players because of the wage differentials between those on fat premier league contracts and those who are brought in from the lower divisions. With the exception of Jack Wilshere and to a lesser extent Carlos Sanchez, Hammers had an incredibly successful recruitment drive that coincided with the arrival of Manuel Pellegrini but it is unlikely that the same levels of expenditure will be reached due to the dreaded FFP, the only way the vicious cycle can be prevented is by making a profit on player sales, would Hammers fans like the idea of selling for example Declan Rice or Felipe Anderson?

Hammers will go in to the next transfer window a more balanced and stable squad but there is still a lot of work to do, at least the penny has finally dropped about bringing young players through, after all how much would it cost to buy players to fill the positions of Declan Rice, Grady Diangana and Xande Silva? The point is Hammers will have to blend youth players with the first team, it is the only way the club can afford to compete. If Mitrovic does make the move to the London Stadium the fee will be substantial and will probably eat up half of the proposed transfer budget, it is to be hoped that any move will be preceded by a 'forensic' medical as the club cannot afford to take another big hit when it comes to signing big money players.

Expect plenty more about Mitrovic's potential arrival at West Ham, particularly in the run up to the season ticket renewal date of May the 17th! - Ed

Daniel Levy and the Tottenham hierarchy have been well pleased with themselves following the successful trial games played at their newly re-furbished stadium ahead of it's official opening, however their joy has turned to anxiety as a result of comments made by their manager Mauricio Pochettino. 'Poch' has said that the new stadium is brilliant and that it made him cry to see it, but crucially he has refused to confirm how long he will remain as manager.

To put it mildly the fall out form the Argentine's comments has been cataclysmic, with the search for a replacement being stepped up. That is not to say the situation is not fluid, Pochettino may well stay but it means poor old Daniel Levy will be forced to prise open the club's coffers in order to ensure his manager stays.

Although it may show a lack of originality, Tottenham's reported target as Mauricio Pochettino's replacement is none other than Manuel Pellegrini he is contracted to West Ham United for another two years after the end of this season, Daniel Levy apparently has no problem matching and bettering the £192,000 per week Pellegrini currently receives.

While this situation will have many Hammers fans furious at the thought of their neighbors 'nicking' their manager, it should be remembered that Manuel Pellegrini was top of Levy's shopping list as their new manager but in the end they went for the cheaper option of Pochettino, who couldn't do interviews without an interpreter at the time.

How much money West Ham will demand to pay off Pelle's contract is anybody's guess, but it won't be cheap bearing in mind the previous 'bad blood' between the clubs. - Ed