Forum | Non-Football Related

West Ham United are scheduling a media slot for 2PM this afternoon (Monday July 3rd) during which the 'eternal' Declan Rice transfer to Arsenal will finally be confirmed. Reprsentatives from BOTH clubs have been feverishly working on an agreement that suits all those concerned.

Hammers supremo David Sullivan is thought to have 'backed off' directly negotiating the deal himself, in order for his new employee Tim Steidten to complete the deal with Arsenal's technical director Edu. It is believed there has been a compromise reached over the payment plan for Declan Rice which roughly translates to 40% of the entire fee up front with the remainder being paid in instalments over the next three years.

This 'arrangement' saves face for the Irons and the Gooners and means that the player can start training with his new team mates when he returns from a Holiday with his young family and Hammers can get on with spending some, if not all of the money received on transfers overseen by Steidten.

Rice's departure was never going to be 'pretty', but at least a line can be drawn in the sand now, many fans are really disappointed with their club captain moving on, especially to London neighbours, but at least it wasn't to fierce rivals 'Tottingham'! - Ed

Rumours of impending arrivals at West Ham United are rife at the moment given the club's recent Euro Cup success and the fact that there will be a few quid in the Kitty following the inevitable departure of Declan Rice to neighbours Arsenal for a whopping fee.

While there is legitimate interest in UK based players like Harvey Barnes from newly relegated Leicester City and several other Championship players, Hammers will be doing most of their eventual shopping from abroad, with France in particular being the most fertile of areas to but players from.

The reason is quite simply that clubs in France with the exception of PSG and maybe one or two others, are completely brassic. This season the temporary Government assistance they received following the collapse of the BeIn sports broadcasting deal has been withdrawn, meaning clubs don't have a pot to proverbial in!

So rich pickings are available and the 'menu' will have been keenly looked at by Hammers new technical director Tim Steidten who starts officially starts work on Monday but has already got several 'Irons in the fire' (couldn't resist that one!). Steidten's sphere of influence also encompasses Germany which will open a whole new avenue of contacts and players, including the highly sought after Edson Alvarez from Dortmund who would be an ideal Declan Rice replacement.

However it is France where the best deals are to be had where Hammers spending power is sufficient to blow all but the serious big hitters out of the water, there are at least three targets that are known off, quite who will arrive is as yet unknown, but these are exciting times to be a Hammers fan.

Perhaps the club SHOULD HAVE employed Tim Steidten earlier, but where WOULD that have left head of player recruitment Rob Newman?

In fact, with Mark Noble and Tim Steidten involved will Newman jump ship or wait to be pushed? Three is an awkward number to manage where there are realistically only two positions, unless you are French of course! - Ed

As if it wasn't bad enough having Big Mikey Antonio 'bad mouthing' Gianluca Scamacca, now ex-Hammers legend Frank McAvennie is telling anyone who will listen and give him a few quid for his opinion that Lucas Paqueta "would be open to leaving West Ham for Newcastle or Paris Saint-Germain because he doesn’t like David Moyes’ style of football".

Now as we all know, comments made by players past and present can be 'cut and shut' and consequently misconstrued, but Frankie Boy has been round the block enough times to know the consequences of 'loose talk'! Frank is a good lad who has a great affection for the club, he used to love a party and a few drinks and still does, but he has always had a propensity to shoot his mouth off which he is continuing to do, just like he used to when he frequented Stringfellows on a regular basis like he used to do back in the day!

Being a bit of a party animal means a person can often be caught with their guard down as is often the case with Frank, there is a reason that he doesn't do hardly any mainstream media work. BT Sport for example would have him 'nailed on' to complement the 'Two Coles' if they thought he could offer a 'balanced opinion, unfortunately he has to make do with being the 'guest reporter' for click bait websites instead.

It is a pity really, because he DOES have a genuine affection for both West Ham AND Celtic but rarely gets the chance to feature in TV programmes and probably needs to earn a few quid because the wages he received were peanuts compared with today's professionals.

Still rocking the boat when it is not necessary can only harm the club and his own image, so please Frank, think before you speak and avoid media outlets that don't care about your reputation. There is absolutely NO creedance in the Paqueta wants out story, unfortunately it is clearly a case of Et Tu Frankie. Let's hope he understands that his comments are being manipulated and can have repercussions, sooner rather than later, that way he can remain a legend instead of becoming a leg end! - Ed