As became evident yesterday, West Ham United do have ambition in this transfer window. Quite how fast it will bear fruit – or indeed if Graham Potters’ side can beat off competition for the highly rated Lille duo of Angel Gomes and Jonathan David remains to be seen. Whilst this move is more the stuff of ‘fantasy football’ than Premier League reality, don’t underestimate West Ham’s pulling power under their new head coach: As it becomes clear that the chaotic dressing room and jumbled tactics of Lopetegui are past history, West Ham become a more attractive long term option, especially if the club hold onto their ‘crown jewels’ -Paquetá, Kudus and Bowen – this winter.
What is certain is that this will not be a ‘quick fix’ with the two aforementioned Lille two players arriving on a January magic carpet to hit the ground running and bolster the midfield next week. Angel Gomes is injured and hasn’t played for Lille since November: It is partly this which is fuelling the talk of running down his contract in the same way as Niclas Fullkrug’s long-term absence created speculation that he ‘was not happy’ at London Stadium. In fact, the parallels don’t stop there.
Fullkrug, before his hamstring twanged like an over tightened guitar string, had suffered from a long-term calf injury: Gomes too has had to take an extended break from the game in order to fix his long-term muscle problem. Getfootballfrance revealed in November that:
..”The former Manchester United player stated that he has been dealing with the injury for “several months”, revealing that it had “deeply affected [his] ability to perform to the level [he] holds [himself] at.” He added that the decision to treat the injury, rather than playing through it, was a “difficult decision”. A return in 2025 is on the cards for Gomes, whose contract at Lille expires at the end of the campaign. ”
So whilst the interest from London Stadium grows, the player is actually unfit to compete at the moment and so would more likely be a summer acquisition: Don’t expect this one to be resolved any time soon. Whether Striker Jonathan David, his team-mate at Lille can be signed as ‘ready to go’ in January is a whole other article!
