Strange one, this: Coming as it does out of the blue in the last week of the transfer window. West Ham are reported to have tried a €25 million bid to buy outright midfielder Argentine Rodrigo de Paul from Atletico Madrid. Whether or not someone is having problems with their google translate this morning I don’t know but the bid is reported by Spanish site Marca.com.
The thirty year old – yes, you read that right – thirty year old midfielder is in the last year of his Madrid contract and fortunately, it is reported that the ‘bid’ has already been rejected.
Firstly there is no evidence that West Ham actually have twenty one million to spend on a ‘jack of all trades’ midfielder this winter window, with the sole priority being a striker, for which the Hammers are having to scratch around to find one who will come on six months’ loan owing to the realities of financial life.
Secondly if anyone seriously thinks that paying ‘Fullkrug’ money for another thirty year old is a good option for the club with the oldest Premier League squad in the country, then I’d consign them to the ‘fantasist’ box in a dark place in the cupboard under the stairs pretty quick.
West Ham already have an English version of De Paul and they sent him out on loan – he’s called James Ward Prowse and nobody wants him anyway. West Ham sent him out to Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan less than a year after parting with £30 million for him – now Nottingham Forest want to send him back anyway!
Quite why the club would spend another twenty-million plus on another overseas midfielder is not explained in the report: Perhaps the Spanish outlet have forgotten Julen Lopetegui isn’t at the club anymore so the Hammers’ days of filling the squad with ‘late career mediocre midfield’ players is -hopefully – long gone.
