This Shock Deal Could Make West Ham’s Season. Take a look at the Premier League table and a couple of high-flying ‘small club’ names stand out. Currently lying ninth- where West Ham would love to be just now- Brighton and Hove Albion. And look further up, sitting sixth at present- Bournemouth. West Ham can dream of a sixth place finish. What these two clubs have in common is that they’ve made big player sales in recent years: None more so than Brighton.
In 2022/3 They sold a huge £110 million worth of players – Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma, Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay. In a Guardian article from 2023 entitled ‘The More Brighton sell their best players, the better they become, the following season’s success was highlighted:“even after Alexis Mac Allister joined Liverpool and Moisés Caicedo signed for Chelsea – bringing in £150m in transfer fees – De Zerbi’s men are thriving.”
Bournemouth, also have achieved the same success from player sales – last Summer’s record transfer of Dominic Solanke (pictured) to Spurs for £55 million – Arguably they are performing better without him. Neither of these two clubs are derided by their own fan base for having ‘limited ambition’ as they show great business acumen AND further success on the pitch to match.
Going Nowhere | At Least, Until The Season End
Hence West Ham’s rumoured transfer strategy ‘shock’ to try and sell Mohammed Kudus for £100 million in order to bring in a top – class striker does not make me recoil.
He’s past his best at London Stadium and wants to move on anyway – plus the £80 million buyout clause in his contract means the Hammers can suffer a moody Kudus until June when he’ll be gone anyway, or cash in now and re-invest. Good business, turning a £38 million purchase into a £100 million sale. Tim Steidten’s finest deal. So far. And I’m sure we can all create a shopping list of forwards from either one of Arsenal, Liverpool or Newcastle that might sweeten the deal if they came to West Ham as part of the sale price.
Mohammed Kudus reflects on his time at West Ham by looking in the mirror during training at Rush Green
Time to cash in on want-away Mohammed Kudus
This is the new model Premier League. Get used to it: It isn’t limited ambition’ on West front but good business but – here is where I do raise a red flag – the next purchase has to be equally well judged.
And I’m not sure that the Steidten – Sullivan – Lopetegui triangle as it judders forwards at present is capable of getting the real deal instead of another Donkey.
