Well that didn’t take long. As I wrote last night that West Ham’s transfer window would be revitalised with the confirmation of Graham Potter as head coach, I hadn’t expected the uptick to be so sudden.
Within a few hours, the rumours start to fly around concerning West Ham’s interest in Jonathan David from Lille (again) even though he’s not available until the Summer and therefore largely superfluous to West Ham’s critical striker issue this January.
One of the more absorbing stories is that of Marcus Rashford coming to West Ham on a loan this very month. Whilst this was initially rubbished when it first arose last year on account of Rashford’s massive wages, the latest news courtesy of football365.com is that Manchester United are prepared to subsidise a big chunk of his £300k a week wages, making him an affordable option for West Ham.
Marcus Rashford could do a ‘Lingard’
This could be almost dejà vu: A carbon copy of the loan agreement struck between the two sides in 2021 for Rashford’s team-mate Jesse Lingard. (Although with Lingard, the Hammers paid all of his weekly salary, from memory).
It was Lingard’s goals and assists, remember, that helped propel David Moyes’ side towards a top six finish in the Premier League.
Jesse Lingard’s loan spell at West Ham relaunched his career and even got the player recalled – briefly – into the England camp.
If Marcus Rashford could have the same impact as Lingard did for David Moyes’ side, with 9 goals and 4 assists in 16 games, Graham Potter could find his own fortunes rapidly on the rise. And how Rashford would love to relaunch his own career.
Whether West Ham can beat off interest from Euro giants such as Napoli, Juventus Dortmund and AC Milan remains to be seen: The player himself may well prefer to stay in the UK and could create a reunion with former Red Devil Aaron Wan-Bissaka who has re-ignited his own career at London Stadium. Memo to Steidten – unlike Lingard, can we at least have an option to buy in this loan please!
