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Report: Pellegrini was pushing hard to sign Gabriel Barbosa for West Ham, but Sullivan wasn’t happy

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According to a report from the Daily Mail, Manuel Pellegrini was pushing for West Ham to sign Inter Milan hitman Gabriel Barbosa in January, but David Sullivan was unhappy having splashed out £45 million on Sebastien Haller in the summer.

The Hammers are currently in a whole world of trouble. They are currently sitting in 17th spot in the Premier League table, just one point clear of the drop zone.

Panic is really starting to set in at the London Stadium.

The east London outfit have won just two out of their last 13 league games – a run that saw Pellegrini’s stint in charge of West Ham come to an end on Saturday.

David Moyes now has the job at the London Stadium. And the Scot will be desperate to prove his critics wrong by outperforming his Chilean predecessor.

West Ham United v Leicester City - Premier League
Manuel Pellegrini (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

The 66-year-old spent plenty of money whilst in charge of the Hammers. But he was forced into selling a lot of players too.

The Daily Mail claims that Pellegrini was pushing hard for West Ham to sign £20 million-rated Gabriel Barbosa in the summer – something that co-owner David Sullivan was unhappy about.

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Gabriel Barbosa (Photo by Simon Holmes/Getty Images)

God forbid that the Hammers would spend just £20 million on a 23-year-old striker who scored over 30 goals last season.

David Sullivan is notorious for being very careful with his money.

The notion that West Ham have spent a lot of money over the past few years is a fallacy. Their net spend is actually rather paltry.

And according to the Daily Mail, it seems as though Pellegrini’s desire to land Gabigol could have been one of the final nails in the coffin of his Hammers tenure.