When speaking to reporters today, Marseille centre-back Duje Caleta-Car admitted that he turned down a really good offer to join a Premier League club earlier this month, as quoted by RMC Sport. And considering the fact that L’Equipe reported that West Ham made numerous bids for the Croatian international, it seems as though we are the mystery club that he is referring to.
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The Sun also claimed that the Hammers made a £25 million offer for Caleta-Car two days before the transfer window closed.
David Moyes ended up bringing Craig Dawson to the London Stadium on loan from Watford instead, however.
And the fact that we missed out on Caleta-Car is a real shame. The 24-year-old would have been a truly sensational addition for West Ham.
Well-renowned football analysis and scouting website IBWM described Caleta-Car as an ‘exceptional talent’.
Standing at 6ft 4in tall, the six-capped Croatia international is aerially dominant, and he possesses all of the physical attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League.
Stats
In 23 Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille last season, the 24-year-old scored one goal and registered one assist. In those outings, the Croatian averaged 1.3 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 4.1 clearances per game. He also won an average of 2.4 aerial duals per match (Who Scored).
Unfortunately for us, we missed out on him. It seems as though it wasn’t through a lack of trying, however.
Without naming a specific club, Caleta-Car told reporters that he rejected a very good offer to move to the Premier League. And we can assume that the club in question was West Ham, considering that he wasn’t strongly linked with any other Premier League teams.
The Croatian told RMC Sport:
“Yes, I had an offer from a Premier League club. It was a really good offer for the club and for me, but I chose to stay to play in the Champions League because it was my biggest dream. When I was young I dreamt about it so that was the first reason”.
In fairness to him, the fact that he wants to play Champions League football is more than understandable.
But who knows? Perhaps West Ham can push for a high finish in the Premier league table this season and show some ambition in the summer by making another move for Caleta-Car.
If we continue our current form, there is no reason why we can’t surprise a lot of people this year.
Let’s just hope that the Marseille ace hasn’t completely shut the door on a move to east London.
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