Just when you thought things couldn't get much worse for West Ham's transfer aspirations, another unwelcome competitor for the club's targets have just been handed enough money to 'blow any Hammers' bids clean out the water. Barclays Premier League rivals Aston Villa's sale of Jack Grealish for an eye watering British record £100 Million to Manchester City, has put them firmly in the driving seat for any transfer target they wish to aim for.
Of course it's not all doom and gloom for David Moyes, you would expect any club that has received such a windfall to go out and spend, spend, spend! If West Ham had sold their prized asset, Declan Rice, then the East Londoners would go on a similar 'splurge', much like dear old 'Arrry' Redknapp did with the proceeds from the Rio Ferdinand to Leeds sale.
When Redknapp was suddenly given a whole load of money to spend, he did so unwisely, such 'luminaries as Rigobert Song, Florin Raducioiu, Davor Šuker and Titi Camara arrived at the Boleyn, all on massive wages and all totally useless! 'H' had been used to a 'cash lite' budget, when he could suddenly afford to dine at the top table he was like a fish out of water!
Dean Smith comes across as a very 'stable' manager, but he will also experience 'cash richness' for the first time in his managerial career.The old expression says "any fool can spend money, only a wise man knows how to keep it", however while that applies in 'normal' life, it does NOT apply to the world of professional football!
It should be remembered that Villa have just 'sold the family silver, and as such their fans will have a 'blood-lust' for new signings, irrespective of who they are! It is human nature, so having seen West Ham miss out on the Champions League by just 2 points it is human nature to expect the club to push on'
Of course there is still plenty of time to go before the transfer window shuts, the fact that the domestic season will have started before the window closes is counter-intuitive, but it is what it is. IF Hammers manage to retain Declan Rice's services, as it appears to have done, then the club can move forward, a couple of astute signings would 'silence the natives' and the club can move forward from a position of strength, as opposed to rebuilding to attain a position of strength.
The only real negative regarding Villa's sudden cash influx is that targets like Jesse Lingard and Tammy Abraham are more likely to end up at Villa Park than at the Bowl of London, however there are only a certain amount of players Smith can sign without destabilising the unit he has in place.
This is Villa's moment in the Sun, (not the crap red top) so they would expect to push on to greater things, they are about to find out how difficult it is to actually spend money, wisely. Everyone and his Aunt will know that Villa have bulging pockets as a result of the Grealish sale, and will hike their prices accordingly.
Spend to mend will be the Birmingham based club's motto, after all, they are about to face their '2nd season syndrome' in the top flight, so lofty aspirations may well give way to pragmatic survival hopes! - Ed
