Tim Steidten made one specific signing for West Ham United that was completely out of the blue.
West Ham appointed Tim Steidten as the club’s new director of football back in the summer of 2023.
However, the German didn’t come into his own until this summer, when he had full control of transfers and was allegedly responsible for all but one of the nine new signings made by the Hammers.
Despite an incredible summer transfer window, Julen Lopetegui has struggled to get his players firing so far.
The Spaniard still has plenty of supporters, including the likes of Guillem Balague.
Interestingly, Sullivan and Steidten were both criticised recently by Balague, with the Spaniard cryptically telling the Hammers fans to ‘look behind the bench’ to understand the problems at the club.
Steidten is clearly a very influential figure at the London Stadium, and has just as much say in transfers as Lopetegui does, maybe even more so.
And now an explanation has been provided for one of Steidten’s more bizarre signings for the Hammers…
Bizarre reason behind Tim Steidten signing for West Ham emerges
The 45-year-old is highly respected in the game – there’s a reason why he’s known as the ‘pearl diver’.
He has made some very good signings indeed for the Hammers including the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Guido Rodriguez and Jean-Clair Todibo.
However, one signing he made was bizarre to say the least.
Andy Irving joined the Hammers back in the summer of 2023, before being immediately loaned back to SK Austria Klagenfurt.
The 24-tear-old returned to the London Stadium this summer, and has already really impressed Julen Lopetegui.
But why did the Hammers decide to sign him in the first place?
The Athletic claim that Steidten decided to press ahead with a move to sign Irving because it was a ‘no-risk’ deal.
I find this rather strange if I’m being honest. The only reason we signed him was because it involved no risk?
Well, I disagree with that statement for a start. The Hammers paid £3 million to sign Irving after all (Sky Sports Austria).
The real reason we signed him must have been more to do with the proposed affiliate partnership between the two sides (Daily Mail).
Andy Irving not Premier League standard
This might sound harsh, but the Scot is quite simply not good enough to play Premier League football for the Hammers in my personal opinion.
That’s not to say that he isn’t a bad player, he’s actually very solid.
The Scot moves the ball about decently and works hard, but that’s about it. He lacks any kind of pace or power, and doesn’t have anything special about his game that stands out.
I would not be surprised one little bit if Andy Irving leaves West Ham either in January or the 2025 summer transfer window.
The 24-year-old seems like a really nice man, but there’s no room for sentiment at elite level sport.
The Hammers signing Irving was a bizarre move in the first place, and I don’t buy the ‘risk-free’ explanation.
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