Tim Steidten has been told £21m gets West Ham their man after further talks as the Hammers close in on an exciting deal.
West Ham are going into overdrive on all fronts right now with negotiations reportedly taking place left right and centre.
Not just for managers but players too.
The Hammers have a major rebuild on their hands, starting – most likely – with a new manager to head it up.
Technical director Tim Steidten has complete control of recruitment. And that includes identifying a potential replacement for David Moyes.
West Ham fans have bemoaned a lack of depth in their squad. Especially as it has cost them the chance to qualify for Europe for a fourth successive season.
With 22 players, the Irons have the joint smallest squad in the Premier League alongside Man City.
West Ham need new squad and someone to manage it
The difference being City’s is essentially two teams which could probably challenge for the title.
The drop off in quality from West Ham’s first XI to the back-up players is steep. And it has proved costly.
Steidten is already on the case when it comes to lining up a successor for Moyes and several new signings.
Those following Hammers News will know he jetted out to Brazil where he held talks with Corinthians for talented forward Wesley Gassova.
The Brazilians rebuffed the Hammers’ opening offer of £13m for the tricky 19-year-old.
Wesley then netted a brilliant brace in Corinthians’ 3-0 win over Fluminense on Sunday. ESPN claimed that sparked Steidten to enter more talks and a second bid from West Ham worth a reported £15m was submitted.
That too was rejected.
Now Steidten has been told £21m gets West Ham their man after further talks as the Hammers close in.
Steidten told £21m gets West Ham their man after further talks
Brazilian football journalist Jorge Nicola has reported that Corinthians president Augusto Melo has told Steidten he will be rejecting West Ham’s second offer.
The journalist has also warned West Ham that the Corinthians chief has been told there’s a German club coming with a £21m bid for Wesley.
Whether it is brinkmanship from Melo is unclear but the Hammers hierarchy have been told there’s ‘confidence that bid will arrive at some point’.
The suggestion is that bid would be accepted.
So West Ham must now decide whether to raise their offer by £6m to get their man.
Hammers must find £6m for for Wesley
Given Steidten is German and has very strong connections there, he should be able to find out if there is indeed a bid coming from his homeland for Wesley.
If it is true and West Ham do submit a third offer then it is clear Steidten seriously rates the young attacker.
That’s despite misgivings over his quality after outspoken former Brazil international turned pundit Neto mocked Corinthians for failing to take the money from West Ham for a player with ‘no end product’.
Wesley certainly showed plenty of end product in his latest match.
And he has been dubbed – as so many are – ‘the future of Brazil’. You can judge for yourself in the obligatory YouTube video compilation below.