West Ham boss David Moyes has serious reservations about a new Tim Steidten transfer recommendation claims The Guardian.
West Ham have not signed a single player in the summer transfer window so far, but they’ve been linked with more than most of their rivals combined.
Disappointed with many of the signings in recent windows, West Ham co-owner David Sullivan appointed Tim Steidten as technical director with overarching responsibility for recruitment and transfers.
But fans have been left scratching their heads over who is dictating the club’s business and identifying targets.
David Moyes welcomed the German to the club, saying he was looking forward to working with him.
But Steidten’s arrival has, in these early days at least, muddied the water over Moyes’ position when it comes to transfers and indeed at the club long-term.
We reported yesterday that Steidten is driving new West Ham moves for duo Ian Maatsen and Youssouf Fofana in big shift away from the usual Moyes policy.
West Ham’s scattergun approach to the summer window looks to be proof that the mix of Moyes and Steidten is already jarring.
It was claimed by a board insider recently that Moyes and the club had concerns about signing Steidten target Denis Zakaria due to his injury record.
Now West Ham boss Moyes has serious reservations about a new Steidten transfer recommendation claims The Guardian.
The newspaper claims the Scot is unsure about Steidten’s desire to bring in Fofana due to his lack of Premier League experience.
That’s despite playing 10 times for France.
“Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana is another player on West Ham’s list,” The Guardian reports.
“David Moyes is wavering over whether to bid for Fofana, a 24‑year‑old France international, because he is keen to sign players with Premier League experience.”
On one hand the Hammers are being linked with older and/or established players such as Harry Maguire, Joao Palhinha and Scott McTominay.
They are players a club does not need a highly paid and regarded technical director to unearth. Especially one with the nickname ‘the pearl diver’ as a result of his talent for identifying talent.
Meanwhile there are links to players Steidten has reportedly recommended including Zakaria, Jonathan Tah and Habib Diallo.
It’s hard to imagine a meeting of minds between Moyes – who likes to scout players over months by watching – or having them watched – live and Steidten – who uses data to identify whether a player has the attributes needed for that team, system and league.
And it seems it could be one of the reasons for West Ham’s very slow window so far.
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