West Ham were relieved after seeing off interest from Liverpool in Tim Steidten only for Newcastle United to be linked.
The relief was palpable at West Ham when Liverpool appointed Michael Edwards having been linked with their technical director.
Only for news to emerge that the world’s richest club Newcastle are now waiting to pounce for Tim Steidten.
The Hammers had been sweating on the future of their ‘pearl diving’ recruitment chief.
Hammers face Newcastle Steidten threat
When reports emerged of Liverpool’s interest, the most senior source inside West Ham told me it would ‘not be easy’ to stop them luring Steidten away.
Especially when the German publicly flirted with the idea last month.
But no sooner had West Ham seen off Liverpool’s interest than Newcastle United were linked.
The Magpies are looking to hire a highly-regarded sporting director to replace the outgoing Dan Ashworth.
And that search has led Saudi PIF-owned Newcastle to West Ham according to The Telegraph.
Magpies’ vast Saudi wealth an obvious concern
Newcastle are by no means a bigger club than West Ham.
But their financial muscle makes them a powerful entity.
Especially when trying to lure someone like Steidten who needs a decent budget in order to do his job effectively.
The report claims Newcastle’s shortlist includes Brentford’s Director of Football Phil Giles, West Ham’s Steidten and former Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto.
That may seem ominous for the Hammers. Especially in light of Steidten’s roaring success with the signings of Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus.
Reasons for Hammers to be hopeful of keeping Steidten
But West Ham’s owners can draw encouragement from three facts.
Giles is a boyhood Newcastle fan for one. And Pinto has publicly expressed his interest in the job.
However perhaps most significant in West Ham’s hopes of keeping Steidten at the London Stadium is the same thing I told fans on February 19th.
That Steidten will be going nowhere after bringing in his brother Moritz and Max Hahn to the club as scouts.
We all know money can turn heads.
But let’s hope the fact Steidten is setting down roots in east London can stave off Amanda Staveley and Newcastle too.