West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has made some really infuriating decisions throughout the years.
The Hammers majority shareholder always seems to choose the cheap, short-term and supposed easy option.
However, those choices end up costing West Ham more in the long-run.
A concerning feeling of apathy has been emanating from the London Stadium recently with fans leaving well before the full-time whistle on a consistent basis.
In my opinion, a big reason for that has been the poor player recruitment over the past 2-3 years.
That all has to change this summer. Graham Potter needs to bring in young, hungry players who will get the fans excited about West Ham again.
A shining example of that is Sullivan’s failure to sign a supremely talented teenager six months ago.
One player we were in for in the summer ended up joining one of our Premier League rivals instead.
And it now looks like we made a huge mistake not signing him.
West Ham’s Dean Huijsen mistake laid bare after £50 million claim
The Hammers clearly made a huge error in the summer.
Dean Huijsen was there for the taking for just under £13 million (BBC).
West Ham tried to sign the exceptional 19-year-old from Juventus six months ago, before he joined Bournemouth.
He has proven to be an unbelievably good acquisition for Andoni Iraola’s side.
In 19 Premier League appearances for Bournemouth this season, the teenager has averaged 1.2 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 4.5 clearances and two successful aerial duels per game (Who Scored).
Those stats are hugely impressive for a 19-year-old centre-back who’s experiencing Premier League football for the very first time.
And now Fabrizio Romano has highlighted just how poor the decision was to step away in the race for Huijsen’s signature.
The high-profile Italian journalist has noted how the teenager has a £50 million release clause inserted into his contract with the Cherries.
Huijsen is said to be attracting interest from ‘top clubs’ in the game:
Before this season began, the Hammers were in a far stronger position than the Cherries to sign a player like the Spain under-21 international.
That has all changed now of course, with Bournemouth’s exceptional form in the Premier League.
However, the powers that be at West Ham have to learn from this.
Signing talented young players from abroad isn’t always the big risk that the Hammers owners make out it is.
Bournemouth are set to make a £37 million profit on Dean Huijsen in just 12 months.
Perhaps if West Ham operated more like the south coast outfit, the club would be in a much stronger position financially.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
