Six days now have passed since West Ham United officially confirmed the appointment of Nils Koppen as their Director of Player Recruitment.
Still, the Hammers don’t seem any closer to doing much of that. Recruiting players, we mean.
Ok, fair point, West Ham have only had Koppen in situ since early-July. The World Cup may also be delaying their plans, while Mateus Fernandes is the only player to depart so far. The uncertainty surrounding Crysencio Summerville, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Taty Castellanos and co means no one really knows exactly which positions West Ham United will be shopping for.
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Still, excuses will start to wear thin if top targets start to slip away.
Club insider ExWhuEmployee reports that missing out on a player the Hammers seemingly view as a leading Fernandes replacement – ESTAC Troyes talisman Martin Adeline – may soon become a real possibility.
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West Ham United are no closer to signing Troyes star Martin Adeline
Ex told West Ham Way on July 1st that the Hammers were ‘expected’ to make a move for Adeline as soon as the £85 million Spurs paid for Fernandes arrived in the coffers. Fernandes officially became a Tottenham player 24 hours later.
And, yet, very little progress appears to have been made in the Adeline deal.
“The midfielder appeared as an early front runner to replace Mateus Fernandes, yet the club have not got close to a formal offer being accepted as yet,” Ex writes.
“It is thought that with the new recruitment structure in place, the team wished to weigh up all their potential options before submitting a formal offer.”
In the meantime, Hamburg are stepping up their interest. The former European champions are looking to take full advantage of West Ham’s stasis. If Adeline is a potential Fernandes replacement in East London, he could fill the void created by Fabio Vieira’s return to Arsenal over in Germany.
Now, you cannot blame Koppen for wanting to settle in and run the rule over the various options available to him. But, because he was appointed in the middle of a transfer window, time is not something he or the Hammers have a lot of right now.
“Unless we make our move soon,” Ex adds, “We could miss out on the talented midfielder.”
This is not the director’s fault, clearly.
But with the Fernandes money in the bank, with Koppen now in place and with the first game of the new Championship season only a month away, it is fair to say many fans expected things to kick up a gear this week.
Hammers talk a good game but are yet to make it count
French publication L’Est eclair reports that, while Adeline was absent as Troyes returned to the training pitch this week, a departure is not ‘imminent’ at this stage. The good news is that Hamburg are not exactly streaking out in front, despite being at a more advanced stage in their pursuit than West Ham are.
Yet all the talk about securing their top targets, about putting together a squad capable of dominating the Championship and then consolidating their place back among the English elite, will start to feel pretty hollow without additions arriving soon.
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West Ham have already called off their pursuit of Dael Fry. After holding talks with the ex-Middlesbrough defender, it is understood that they decided against completing a deal because – with Koppen on board and £85 million burning a hole in the pocket – the Hammers felt they could move on to more ambitious transfer targets.
Statements such as this, though, rather sum up the summer so far.
Big talk, but little action. Is Daniel Kretinsky’s bite as strong as his bark? The appointment of Koppen, the injection of £90 million into the club’s coffers, suggests it is. But it is often in the transfer market where fans really judge those in charge, and so far there has been very little to get excited about.
Who knows? Perhaps West Ham will submit a bid for Adeline later today or at some point over the weekend?
Riyad Mahrez and Bryan Mbeumo thrived in the Championship after arriving from the French second tier and Adeline, provider of 11 goals and 13 assists for newly-promoted Troyes, certainly has the quality to follow in their footsteps.
As things stand right now, though, the fans are starting to wonder when, or where, that Fernandes windfall will be reinvested.
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