West Ham United are playing a dangerous game of transfer roulette in their pursuit of Leicester’s Harvey Barnes. However there seems to be numerous conflicting press reports which cast doubt on the urgency of the Hammers pursuit.
The Daily Express are currently running the headline: ‘West Ham move quickly to beat Aston Villa to £40m transfer when Declan Rice joins Arsenal’.
Now, excuse me if I’m missing something obvious here, but isn’t that rather contradictory? The article refers to the Hammers pursuit of Harvey Barnes, but I’d suggest it’s not a sound strategy if true.
West Ham can hardly be described as moving quickly for a player, if we’re having to wait. The whole thing sounds an awful lot like a complicated chain before moving house.
What’s to stop Aston Villa moving for Barnes if they seriously covet him? Surely they’re not bound by the same restrictions of having to sell before they can buy? If (and I mean a massive IF) West Ham are seriously interested in the winger, why would we wait?
Why would West Ham offer up an advantage to a bidding rival?
Transfer bragging rights
There’s a lot to be said for David Sullivan waiting for the perfect terms on Declan Rice’s sale. Conversely there’s also much to be said for moving quickly for a player while he’s available.
I do hope West Ham don’t dither, delay and negotiate so much that we lose our No1 target. The protracted Rice negotiations and the delay in appointing the football director seem risky.
Sully really needs to take the win. He’s successfully forced Arsenal to up their bid to top the Jack Grealish Vill to City fee.
Sullivan wants the Rice money paid over 18 months and Arsenal want to pay over 4 years . . . . there’s an obvious compromise to be had methinks.