Shelvey To West Ham Sullivan Finally Hits Panic Button
West Ham co-owner and majority share holder David Sullivan was probably hoping for a relatively quiet and potentially prosperous January transfer window, however all of that has turned on it's head in recent days. The plan appeared to be sell on Carroll and Sakho possibly even Ayew and Hernandez as well, extra funds could be brought in and with one or two additions and full utilisation of the promising youngsters available there would be a team capable of avoiding relegation and even finishing up as high as 7th in the Premier League with a net spend of Zero!
Of course Andy Carroll managed to pick up an ankle fracture that required surgery that has put him out for the rest of the season so no sale to Chelsea, in a way that was to be expected given his appalling injury record but what is much more relevant to Hammers hopes and aspirations is that Manuel Lanzini's hamstring injury picked up in the match against Bournemouth is a serious one that will keep him out of action for six weeks or more. Lanzini's injury is bad enough, but it now transpires that 'Elbows' Arnoutovic could be out for two or three games with a hamstring injury, talk about 'West Hamstrung United!' These two injuries along with Michail Antonio's long term groin injury has had two direct consequences, namely Javier Hernandez who has expressed his desire to leave has been taken out the shop window as has Andre Ayew unless Swansea pay the full £20 Million that he cost West Ham to buy last season. The loss of Arnoutovic and Lanzini means that Chicarito and Ayew will have to replace them, neither 'Manu' nor 'Elbows' will be fit for up to five or six crucial games.
With the situation demanding action David Sullivan and the Hammers hierarchy have finally given David Moyes the green light to bring in urgently needed reinforcements, now having been thoroughly spanked in the previous January transfer window lessons have obviously been learned, so the 'high profile with a view to buy loan' and maybe one permanent signing modus will probably be used. As January is a risky time to buy out right the loan option is a good one, if only short term, hence the renewed interest in 'Super' Mario from Inter Milan to bolster the midfield, and because David Moyes had already identified the centre of the pitch where there were major issues his desire to bring Jonjo Shelvey from Newcastle seems to have been granted with Hammers firming up their £12 Million bid.
Jonjo Shelvey is a life long Hammers fan and spent two years as a fourteen year old at West Ham before moving to Charlton where he became their youngest ever player, he nearly re-signed for the club again a few years ago and was even spotted in the Old Boleyn Ground's car park on dead line day in anticipation of a deal being concluded, but the value of the player was suddenly doubled at the last minute so the deal was off. Shelvey would be a great addition to West Ham and fits the brief perfectly, a rugged, energetic and creative player who gets sent off a lot, sounds familiar? His disciplinary record is atrocious and signing him is a bit of a risk, especially if he gets sent off trying to over impress during his first match, but the midfield needs some one like him to help out captain Mark Noble, the absence of Lanzini and Arnoutovic will place an even bigger onus on the midfield to protect the back line and give support to the 'make shift' front line and creative areas, hence the need for this deal to be pushed through without delay.
David Moyes has been quoted as saying he would prefer to bring in players with Premier League experience who can hit the ground running, and Shelvey is exactly that player whereas Mario is an unknown quantity but he can't have become a bad £38 Million player over night, rather he is a player burdened by having such a high price paid which effected his confidence and form which saw him fall out with Scalletti at inter. A change of scenery might just do him a power of good while at the same time giving Hammers fans a glimpse of what a highly valued Portugese mid fielder looks like ahead of the mooted summer transfer of William Carvello.
At £12 Million Jonjo Shelvey looks like an absolute bargain given today's insane player valuations, and it seems that Mr Sullivan has realised that as well, the word is that this deal is imminent and there is even a rumour that an appointment has already been booked in for him at the Spires medical centre for a lengthy and comprehensive 'high tech' medical, at least they seem to be learning from the Carroll debacle!
