West Ham United director of football Tim Steidten quite clearly means business this summer.
Tim Steidten arrived at the London Stadium last summer, when he was appointed as the new West Ham director of football.
The German addressed the media earlier this week and took a backhanded dig at David Moyes, whilst praising new Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui.
West Ham are now taking a more continental approach to transfer operations, whereby Lopetegui will tell Steidten the type of player he wants, and then the German will come back with options for him.
The Spaniard needs to strengthen pretty much every single department of his squad this summer, but only has a £90 million budget to work with, not including player sales.
So Steidten and Lopetegui will definitely be keen to raise some funds by moving on certain players who they’ve deemed to be surplus to requirements.
We haven’t got the biggest squad, so it will be tricky to move players on without considerably weakening the group.
Selling players comes under the German’s remit, and he will use his contacts in the game to help generate interest in certain Hammers.
He has already proven his worth when it comes to bringing players in to the London Stadium, but now he clearly has the remit to shift some of the deadwood out of the club.
And now two West Ham players in particular seem to be primed for the chop this summer…
Tim Steidten actively trying to get rid of two West Ham players
Lopetegui has already spent around £65 million on the signings of Luis Guilherme, Wes Foderingham and Max Kilman.
That leaves just £25 million, so the Spaniard will undoubtedly be looking to raise a bare minimum of £50 million in player sales.
West Ham still need to sign a top-class striker, a left winger and a defensive midfielder at the very least, if we are to be competitive on all fronts next season.
Signing top-class players in all of those positions won’t come cheap, so raising some cash will obviously be vital to Steidten and Lopetegui’s plans.
![(Back row L-R) West Ham United's Polish goalkeeper #01 Lukasz Fabianski, West Ham United's English midfielder #09 Michail Antonio, West Ham United'...](https://cdn1.hammers.news/uploads/25/2024/07/GettyImages-2147906978-1-1024x683.jpg)
Really, we need two new full-backs as well, but that might have to wait until the January transfer window or next summer.
Orignially, the plan was to sell Lucas Paqueta to Manchester City, but the ongoing betting probe has scuppered any chances of that happening, for now at least.
So which players can Steidten generate some real cash by selling in the summer transfer window?
According to a report from French publication L’Equipe, the German has already offered two players to a Ligue 1 club.
Hammers duo Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd were offered to Nice, but the French side rejected both of them.
The 29-year-old Frenchman and the 43-capped Morocco international were both really poor for us last season.
Zouma regressed badly from a physical perspective, with his knees giving him all sorts of problems. Meanwhile, Aguerd quite simply isn’t suited to the robust and intense nature of Premier League football.
I still firmly believe that both players could thrive in Ligue 1 though, so I’m surprised that Nice rejected the chance to sign either of them.
Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui have clearly deemed Zouma and Aguerd to be surplus to requirements at West Ham.
With Max Kilman on the verge of joining the Hammers, we already look like a much stronger defensive outfit, and I wouldn’t be surprised on little bit if another central defender was brought in before the start of the new season.
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