West Ham United chief Kyle Macaulay ‘at risk of first transfer howler’ already. Kyle Macaulay has been thrown in somewhat at the deep end since taking over as West Ham United’s head of recruitment.
The 38-year-old was plucked from the same position he held at Chelsea last month – far from ideal given the winter transfer window was already in full swing. Throw in the exit of Tim Steidten around the same time and it is fair to say the Irons’ transfer thinking was not exactly in unison.
Still, United managed to bring in Even Ferguson from Brighton and Hove Albion on Deadline Day, so it was not the worst window.
West Ham linked with Marco Verratti transfer
Signing a striker the right side of 30, albeit only on loan, was seen as a positive step from the East London outfit.
However, if transfer speculation over the past 24 hours or so is anything to go by, West Ham will soon seemingly revert back to their former ways.
According to according to TBR Football [7 February], West Ham are in the race to sign Marco Verratti from Qatari club Al-Arabi.
Verratti is one of the finest midfielders of his generation, but now aged 32, he is surely not a serious consideration for the Hammers.
Marco Verratti’s career appearances
Verratti has been capped 55 times for Italy and has a plethora of awards to his name, both in terms of team honours and individual accolades.
He has made over 500 career appearances, the majority of those coming for Paris Saint-Germain, whom he left for Al-Arabi in 2023. It may well be that Verratti is now heading back to European football, but hopefully not at West Ham United.
Macaulay, and whoever soon joins him as Steidten’s successor, need to move away from these types of deals. Should United indeed pursue a move for Verratti, it may well be the first error of this new regime at the London Stadium.
