West Ham United missed out on signing Memphis Depay after the summer transfer window slammed shut.
Julen Lopetegui was dealt a big blow on Monday with Niclas Fullkrug succumbing to an Achilles injury, and as a result, Memphis Depay was touted as a potential option for West Ham.
Memphis Depay has actually been on the West Ham radar since the summer of 2022, and the surprise links emerged once again earlier this week.
The 30-year-old was available as a free agent after his release from Atletico Madrid.
That’s not the case anymore, after he joined Brazilian side Corinthians.
But why didn’t the Hammers push harder to bring the former Manchester United and Barcelona striker to the London Stadium?
Reason why West Ham didn’t sign Memphis Depay
West Ham considered signing Memphis Depay before he joined Corinthians yesterday.
The Hammers do seem fairly weak in the centre-forward department right now.
Signing Depay would have helped all of that, and the reason why we didn’t has now emerged.
According to a report from Give Me Sport, the real reason why West Ham were unable to pursue a move to sign Memphis Depay was because of Danny Ings and his massive £125k-a-week salary.
How sick does that make you feel! What an awful signing Ings has been for West Ham, and we’re still paying for bringing him to the London Stadium now, in more ways than one.
Described by Dutch great Ruud Gullit as ‘world-class’ (Football Espana), Depay possesses truly exceptional ability, although he’s been off the boil for quite some time now.
However, that’s not to say that the 30-year-old wouldn’t have been a useful addition for the Hammers.
Memphis Depay could have done a job for West Ham
The former Manchester United and Barcelona man would have been able to do a solid job for us for the next couple of years, and signing him on a free transfer would’ve meant that the transfer wasn’t a risk.
Who knows though, perhaps Memphis Depay demanded a huge salary, or maybe Lopetegui believes in Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen to fill in for Fullkrug.
The Dutch ace is an enigmatic, precocious talent and on his day he is unplayable.
Depay is incredibly strong as well and would be ideally suited to leading the line on his own for the Hammers, in the absence of Fullkrug.
I personally think that Memphis Depay would have been a decent signing for us on a free transfer.
However, Danny Ings stopped that from happening. How sickening is that.
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