West Ham United can now officially draw a firm line under Callum Wilson’s time in East London; the veteran poacher making the short trip across the capital to join Brentford.
Despite suggestions of a strained relationship between the striker and his head coach – Wilson was clearly not happy with his role under Nuno – that did not stop the Hammers from attempting to find a resolution.
Having proven his fitness with a rare injury-free campaign, Hammers News can confirm that West Ham offered Wilson a deal on improved wages.
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Another 12-month contract which could have been doubled in length if he helped bring back Premier League football at the first time of asking.
Instead, the Callum Wilson and West Ham United story ends after just one season, and a highly-impressive return of seven goals in 11 starts.
Callum Wilson joins Brentford after West Ham United expiry
During his official unveiling as a Brentford player on Thursday afternoon, the former Newcastle, Coventry and Bournemouth hitman offered an insight into his thinking. As expected, Wilson has his heart set on a spot in the Premier League’s ‘100 club’.
He is currently on 95. And with his 35th birthday coming up in February, he would have known that a season in the Championship would have damaged – or at least delayed – his ambitions of becoming a goalscoring centurion.
“I don’t shy away from the fact that I’m five goals away from 100,” Wilson tells the Brentford website. “So I feel like five chances are going to come pretty quickly here and it’ll be a great opportunity to achieve that.
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“There’s a fantastic squad and a fantastic manager, the club is already doing great things, I’m just coming to add my qualities, help the club go up the league and hopefully get over the line.
“I spoke to Jordan Henderson as well. He sung the praises of the club. Jaidon Anthony just joined as well [from Burnley] and I played with him at Bournemouth. There’s some familiar faces there and, like I say, these are players you’ve played against many times before.
“There is unbelievable quality.”
Wilson was often used as a super-sub by Nuno Espirito Santo, scoring winners off the bench against both Tottenham Hotspur and Everton. It is likely that he will perform similar duties at Brentford, with no one expected to come near the exorbitant asking price slapped on top of Golden Boot runner-up Igor Thiago.
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