A crazy Ivan Toney call surely ranks as the worst transfer decision in West Ham’s modern history by some distance.
West Ham may have stumbled on a fantastic new front three but the striker curse is real.
Just as the Hammers were finding a real rhythm among their Holy Trinity of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen they’ve been split up.
Kudus is away at AFCON until next month and both Paqueta and Bowen have picked up worrying injuries.
There’s a recurring theme when it comes to West Ham and forwards, though.
Taking the forward step
Danny Ings and Gianluca Scamacca were striker signings 51 and 52 since 2010 for West Ham.
But like so many – too many – before them, they just did not work out.
Even when West Ham have got it right over the years, it usually ends in tears. Craig Bellamy was electric and the real deal. But he spent much of his time injured and was sold to Man City due to financial issues.
Dean Ashton looked like the new Alan Shearer but was forced to retire at just 26 due to that infamous injury suffered in training on England duty.
Jermain Defoe went on to be one of the all-time leading Premier League goalscorers. But of course West Ham went and got relegated as he was an emerging talent meaning they ended up losing him for peanuts to bitter rivals Spurs.
Crazy Toney call surely West Ham’s worst yet
Carlos Tevez was never going to stick around long. Marko Arnautovic had it all but kicked off for a big money move to China. I could be here all day compiling name after name.
But, as West Ham go into yet another transfer window desperately looking for a quality striker, it is one that got away which perhaps stings more than most.
Because the crazy Ivan Toney call surely ranks as the worst transfer decision in West Ham’s modern history.
West Ham were offered £100m-rated Toney on a silver platter for a tenth of that price while at Peterborough.
West Ham majority owner David Sullivan is very close with Posh director of football Barry Fry, as was the sadly passed former Hammers co-owner David Gold.
Sullivan: ‘I wish I’d listened’
And Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony revealed a couple of years ago that Sullivan told him he will forever regret not taking matters into his own hands by signing the striker Brentford snapped up for a bargain £10m.
“Tell a quick story,” MacAnthony said on his podcast The Hard Truth.
“David Sullivan rang Barry [Fry] today (Feb 2001) and Baz rang me laughing and he said ‘I wished I’d listened to you in the summer (2000)!’
“Because David Moyes did like Ivan Toney a lot. He said ‘that boy is probably going to go for £30 million plus in the summer.”
“Plus” being the operative word there – as it would be plus about £70m to get him now. Toney is being touted for a £100m move to Arsenal.
Moyes was a big fan too
He has had his issues with that lengthy ban from which he is about to return. But imagine him up front in this West Ham team with Bowen, Kudus and Paqueta around him.
The Hammers would be genuine Champions League contenders.
It’s a sickeningly bad decision which is still hard to stomach. Made even more galling by the fact Moyes was a big fan too.
We can only hope that Tim Steidten will unearth us a striking pearl from somewhere. Because it really is the missing piece for West Ham no matter how well Bowen has done with his goalscoring exploits up top.
The Hammers have made some terrible transfer decisions over the decades.
But passing up on signing Toney for a paltry £10m – given the club’s neverending search to find a top quality striker who has a bit of everything – looks the worst o the lot.
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