West Ham United have had their fair share of underwhelming signings, with many of Tim Steidten’s more recent Premier League recruits ageing about as well as mid-90s CGI.
Guido Rodriguez could return to Argentina with River Plate having not started a single league match since his half-time hooking against Crystal Palace in January.
Luis Guilherme may leave West Ham for a fraction of the £25 million fee Steidten paid Palmeiras a year ago. Max Kilman, Niclas Fullkrug, Jean-Clair Todibo and Crysencio Summerville – the former Leeds ace saw his Premier League campaign ended by injury this week – are also yet to justify their expensive price-tags.
At least, for heartbroken Luton Town, if there is any consolation its that Victor Moses did not cost a penny and will depart when his contract expires in a matter of weeks.
He won’t be missed.
Victor Moses relegated as former West Ham winger endures nightmare Luton Town spell
From a Hammer to a Hatter, West Ham turned down the chance to sign Victor Moses on a permanent £7 million deal from Chelsea after an inconsistent loan spell in the 2015/16 season was cut short due to a hamstring issue.
Compared to his brief and highly-unforgettable time at Kenilworth Road, however, that 26-game spell with West Ham was almost a roaring success.
Now 34, Moses’ arrival in September following that Spartak Moscow exit was supposed to give Luton an extra dash of experience and some match-changing quality in their battle against successive relegations.
A battle they would eventually lose. Plummeting from the vertigo-inducing heights of the Premier League to rock bottom and League One in the space of just 12 months.
Tellingly, Moses was not even part of the Luton squad beaten 5-3 by West Brom in a madcap final-day outing which sealed their fate. In fact, the former Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Inter Milan wideman has been left out of every single matchday roster since Matt Bloomfield was hired to replace Rob Edwards in January.
If the West Ham fans were left split on Victor Moses – earning plenty of fans in claret and blue but alienating many others with his erratic on-pitch displays – the Luton faithful are most certainly aligned on a transfer which arguably sums up a lot about what has gone wrong in recent times.
“It’s selection on my behalf,” Bloomfield would explain to Luton Today. “He’s available and training well, available for selection. He’s had a top career, is a top player, but at this moment in time he’s not in the squad.
“At this moment in time, there’s probably others ahead of him.”
Luton fan argues Moses signing epitomises their League One fall
While Bloomfield took the more cautious, diplomatic approach, Luton fan and pundit Simon Mills pulled no punches in conversation with Football League World.
West Ham have faced plenty of criticism over the years for signing multiple players past their prime. Think Patrice Evra, Alvaro Arbeloa, Carlos Sanches. Guido Rodriguez, clearly lacking the mobility to last in the Premier League, probably falls into that category too.
Maybe it’s time high-time Luton go back to the drawing board themselves. With League One looming, Victor Moses’ impending departure at least represents the start of what should be an overhaul of The Hatters.
“My one message to the club ownership would be to wake up, adjust your strategies that you’ve been employing in the last two years in regards to transfers and the type of players that we sign,” Mills explains.
“Stop taking risks on injury-prone players. Focus on what actually brought us to the dance, which wasn’t this free-flowing attacking football that never materialised, but being strong in defence, and in the air, and being able to terrify any opponent we play.
“And yeah, that’s about it.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
