West Ham are busy in the transfer window, through necessity more so than desire. They need to sign a new midfielder desperately given the departure of former captain Declan Rice. Furthermore, other areas such as their defence need tightening up.
In fairness to the Hammers recruitment team, they have been active in shortlisting potential options and even communicating with the respective clubs. However, so far, they’ve fallen short on a few occasions.
West Ham face two Premier League rejections in one day
According to The Guardian, West Ham have been rejected for two of their Premier League transfer targets in one day. Firstly, their opening £45m bid for Joao Palhinha has been rejected by Fulham and secondly, their offer to take Harry Maguire on loan from Manchester United has been knocked back, with Erik ten Hag holding out for a permanent deal or nothing.
Understandably, Joao Palhinha is worth a lot to Fulham. He appeared in most of their fixtures last season and he is under contract for some time now. Further, I’m sure the Cottagers are aware of the Hammers’ desperacy to sign a midfielder, so they’re more inclined to hold out for a bigger fee.
Still, what works in West Ham’s favour is that the transfer market is saturated with midfield options this summer. In fact, it is probably the easiest position in which to grab a great deal, so patience could be a virtue here.
For Harry Maguire, again, I don’t know what West Ham were thinking. He would be a great addition under David Moyes, but there’s no chance Erik ten Hag would allow him to leave on loan. He’s 30 years old, for crying out loud, how on earth would a loan move benefit Man United in any way?
Who do you think West Ham will sign this summer?