Written by @Samizgould
Getting the timing right of any transfer move is an art of its own. Previously at West Ham we’d become synonymous with very little artistry as we shouted to the far reaches every move and plan we had and Mario Husillos has tasked himself to change that and bring a little magic hopefully to East London.
We saw in the January window that there was an opportunity if Arnautovic was to leave for China then Manuel Pellegrini wanted to make a move for Maxi Gomez as his replacement. This deal was a strong possibility in January as there weren’t any other clubs with close to £30 or £40 million pound to spend for a striker. Ultimately it came to nothing as it appears the offer for Marko wasn’t sufficient for us to sell and despite Maxi Gomez being the 1st choice striker that the manager wants without the money from the sale a deal wasn’t going to happen. 6 months later and we are still lusting after Maxi but this time there have been others clubs linked most notably Valencia. Valencia’s ability to offer the promised land of Champions League football is a draw card that often turns a player’s head. But Mario is playing things very cool he clearly believes that we are in a position of strength and wants get him for a fee that works for the club at the right time. Valencia and other teams that might be interested either don’t have the funds available to compete, or the key first team opportunity that Maxi Gomez wants on offer. It’s a dangerous game and full of tough negotiating and plenty of nerve but will it work?
Perhaps Husillos is just waiting for further sales to happen so he has squad places available to makes moves and not risk the value of our current players but for the first time we really don’t know exactly what his moves are. As Geo from Hammers Chat has put it “we are in a Husillos World” and isn’t it a bit wonderful if a little anxious.
The Pablo Fornals move is another interesting one, as we were given clear reports and hints of moves for defensive midfielders and almost out of nowhere we have the joyous arrival of a 23-year-old Spanish maestro who has potential to burn on low wages and a very reasonable fee of £25million for a player who tops clubs were seriously following. Not the player we expected and not a name that we’d become familiar with or knew of our interest for months in advance. Instead it appears that while working on negotiations for midfield targets Husillos saw an opportunity for a player at a price that was right and ticked all the boxes for the type of younger singing our club has been yearning for. We have since learnt that Napoli we also interested and made moves but our timing was right and it appears we beat them for a top-quality signature. Here Husillos had his magic boots working wonders.
Now ExWhuemployee has reported today that we are unlikely to be spending big money on defensively minded midfielder more likely to be loans of free signings, which has taken many by surprise. We have been linked with a broad variety of midfielders and its hardly surprising given last season we struggled to consistently control the midfield despite Rice’s heroics especially against physical sides.
Pellegrini of course has a longstanding history as an attacking manager and it wouldn’t totally be out of character if he went all out with an attacking setup in the centre of midfield with Rice as cover in whatever system he chooses. But the balance of our midfield still seems off, with Obiang reportedly keen to return to Italy and many questioning whether Carlos Sanchez is the right player to cover Rice it’s an area that would seem ripe for improvement. Not that I doubt Ex’s information is any way but as he’s even mentioned that its really only Husillos and Pellegrini that know the exact strategy. Our budget is limited and we are now very much looking to move players on to help facilitate moves and increase our cash flow and options. But it appears that there may be other opportunities if our timing is right. For weeks we have been hearing of interest in multiple players from clubs who are struggling with Financial Fair Play regulations and at A.C Milan and Marseille especially they are both in desperate need to sell some players before the 1st of July. Both clubs have put their best players like Suso, Frank Kessie, Morgan Sanson, Florian Thauvin and plenty of others up for sale in order to raise the necessary funds. As this deadline grows closer it is likely that their prices will continue to drop to force a sale. There is no doubt that these sorts of players would improve us and of course players of this quality will attract most clubs. Only Husillos knows if these players are targets and whether strikers are more our focus or even if we have any funds for these sorts of moves. Let alone the difficulty in negotiating quickly without other clubs finding out when Marseille and A.C. Milan have an interest in creating a bidding war. Its complex, challenging and high risk but that’s why a good Director of Football is so important. I have trust in Husillos and Pellegrini to get it right but I do hope there is more to come defensively in midfield.
Written by @Samizgould
