Neutrals might not believe it, considering West Ham United would finish 18th in the Premier League table, but the London Stadium was also home to some of last season’s most inspired acquisitions.
Even at £40 million, Mateus Fernandes is up there with one of the club’s best, most impactful signings of the last decade.
He has his critics, but only Gigi Donnarumma and David Raya can boast a better percentage of clean sheets than Mads Hermansen.
A summer of sales looms! Who will you miss the most?
And while he didn’t quite match the 14-goal heroics of another veteran free-agent number nine in Leeds sensation Dominic Calvert-Lewin, seven goals in 11 Premier League starts was a return far greater than many expected when a 34-year-old, injury-ravaged Callum Wilson joined West Ham United on a heavily incentivised one-year deal.
A deal which will not be extended.
An evergreen Wilson confirmed his departure from the Hammers in an emotional, in-places bitter Instagram post on Wednesday.
West Ham United fans question Callum Wilson departure
Isn’t it funny how things change?
Last summer, the signing of Wilson was viewed by many as a perfect embodiment of West Ham’s lack of long-term, out-of-the-box thinking. Less than 12 months later, many of those who questioned his arrival were now hoping to see him stick around.
“95 per cent of fans were up in arms about signing him and said some pretty choice things at the time,” one writes on Hammers News’ official Facebook page. “Now, there’s nothing but hero worship for the guy. Pretty standard stuff from our lot really.”
A tad harsh, perhaps. Wilson had missed over 100 matches in five years at Newcastle due to a series of never-ending injury issues.
Few saw him scoring seven times in 11 matches for West Ham. Even fewer envisaged Wilson avoiding even a fleeting visit to the treatment room.
A potential return to promoted Coventry City, where he started his career, is something many are now predicting. Especially with Wilson just five goals away from a place in the Premier League history books.
“He wants to join the ‘EPL 100 Club’ and he’s on 95 goals currently,” another fan writes. “So he will probably sign for Coventry or another promoted team so to complete that achievement.”
“Really sorry to see him go,” another writes, feeling that Wilson’s superb record of a goal every 177 league minutes offsets his obvious athletic decline. “He’s definitely a vital member of the team and perhaps he can’t do a full game, but you were always positive when he was on the pitch thinking he could make something happen.”
“He could well have been a West Ham legend had he stayed and fired the Hammers back into the Premiership.”
“[Nuno] never used him. Often, it was late when he [came on]. I can’t blame [Wilson for going].”
“I would have kept him personally but I’m not in charge.”
“If a manager doesn’t like a player, fair enough. But if the player’s skill talent can do the business on the field, the then bad feelings should be put to one side.”
“I’m really disappointed with the news. Nuno had a downer on Callum Wilson, giving him minimal game time. Typically, Nuno would squander a lead going defensive, then only call Callum Wilson off the bench late on to save his bacon, which he more often than not did.”
“I think he was criminally under-utilised and would rip up in the Championship. He proved he’s a better finisher than Pablo, and more clinical than Taty [Castellanos].”
Some supporters side with Nuno Espirito Santo
What did YOU make of Callum Wilson’s exit?
Nuno might've missed a trick…
Others, though, take a different view.
“I like Wilson and he did well for us, but the way forward is to find a decent striker who can play 90 mins.”
“A couple of games ago, when we really needed three points to stay up [like in the 3-1 loss at Newcastle], Wilson started up front. Probably due to pressure from certain pundits. It was a disaster until Taty was put on, wasn’t it?
“Sorry, folks, I’m with Nuno. Wilson is charismatic, but age is catching up with him. Too slow, and missed too many chances. Not the dominant presence he once was. Rarely made an impact.”
“We really need a younger striker to grow with the team in the Championship ready for our return to the big boys league.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
