According to an interview he conducted with The Guardian, West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has revealed that the club and former manager Sam Allardyce turned down the chance to sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea in a £10m deal, with the 24-year-old going on to score 93 Premier League goals in the last five-and-a-half seasons.
What’s the word, then?
Well, Sullivan spoke to The Guardian on a number of different subjects, but transfer deals featured heavily and the 68-year-old says that current Everton boss Allardyce didn’t want to pay £10m for Lukaku because he wasn’t sure he was worth that much.
The Belgium international went on to score 17 goals in 38 appearances during a loan spell with West Bromwich Albion, before netting 87 in 166 games for Everton to earn himself a move to Manchester United during the summer.
How has that decision affected West Ham?
Well, the Irons have been crying out for a consistent striker who stays injury-free for a number of seasons now, and it is clear that they will regret not making a move for Lukaku given how his career has progressed since that moment.
While Allardyce was clearly right to show his inhibitions about paying that much for a player who had barely featured for Chelsea, it is also an indication on how the east London outfit don’t often seem to get things right in the transfer market.
How can they improve in the future?
They probably need to start looking at players that aren’t the finished article yet, but have the potential to improve and develop.
The likes of Pablo Zabaleta and Jose Fonte may have looked to have been good additions on paper in 2017, but they are pretty much guaranteed to not improve and they will also have no resale value at the end of their contracts.
West Ham should be targeting players in their early to mid-twenties that can spend the best years of their career at the London Stadium, rather than joining them in the twilight years.
We will see if they have learnt their lesson in the New Year.
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