Tim Steidten is reportedly on the verge of landing a new job after being sacked by West Ham — and looks set to raid his former club for his first signing in January.
Many West Ham fans accuse Tim Steidten of setting the club back years by squandering £155m in his first and only transfer window in full control of the club’s recruitment.
The German was sacked ahead of the last January transfer window, just 18 months into what he had stated would be a five-year project to transform West Ham around young, exciting talent.
There is no hiding the fact Steidten made a string of terrible decisions during the big splurge that has left the Hammers with an unbalanced squad sorely lacking in key areas.
Steidten made 10 signings during his only window in full control of the club’s transfers, with the £155m spent – and subsequent gross underperformance – plunging West Ham into PSR difficulties which impacted spending in the last window.
Steidten squandered millions at West Ham
The Hammers got progressively worse since Steidten’s arrival, going through three managers in 16 months, resulting in the appointment of a fourth in Nuno Espirito Santo.
It is now the Portuguese’s job to try and turn things around with what’s been left behind in the aftermath.
Some Hammers supporters have accused Steidten of ‘crimes against football’ for some of his decisions while technical director at West Ham.
He arrived in east London with a big reputation after being credited for playing a major role in signing players and appointing Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen as they rose to prominence.
While Leverkusen were earning themselves the nickname Neverkusen as they secured a shock Bundesliga title by going unbeaten as part of a domestic double – while also finishing runners-up in the Europa League – West Ham were struggling with Steidten’s hodge podge squad.
It has since emerged Simon Rolfe, not Steidten, was actually the main architect and brains behind Leverkusen’s meteoric rise.
Steidten made a series of questionable transfer decisions which ultimately cost him his job with the Hammers.
None worse than electing not to pay £45m for striker Jhon Duran so that he could use that money to spread over the signings of Luis Guilherme and Niclas Fullkrug.
Both signings have been complete disasters for the Hammers.
Fullkrug was completely the wrong profile of striker for the club and the Premier League.
Big £45m call among Steidten’s worst at West Ham
Slow, immobile, ageing and injury-prone, Fullkrug has been a complete flop after his £27m move, spending more time out injured than on the pitch.
Guilherme meanwhile has failed to impress three different managers, being limited to a solitary start and a dismal total of just 191 minutes of football in his 15 months at the club.
Steidten has been linked with a number of roles since being sacked by David Sullivan from shock rumours of a job at Barcelona to joining Crystal Palace.
Now Steidten is on the brink of a new job and looks set to raid West Ham for his first signing.
In fact a big new West Ham transfer claim from a top German source overnight suggests Steidten has won the race to land a new job.
According to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Steidten is a frontrunner to be named new sporting director at Wolfsburg.
The German club relieved current sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz of his duties on Thursday.
And Plettenberg says talks are now underway with Steidten while ex Ajax director Sven Mislintat is also a potential candidate.
Steidten set for Wolfsburg and Hammers flop as first signing
However, a sure sign that Steidten has got the job is that Wolfsburg have started talks to bring flop Fullkrug back to Germany as soon as the January window opens.
Sky Sports News’ Zinny Boswell and Lyall Thomas reported overnight that Wolfsburg are targeting a deal for Fullkrug at the same time news emerged Steidten is on the verge of landing the role as their new sporting director.
West Ham have told Fullkrug’s agent he can leave.
Although majority owner Sullivan has warned Fullkrug he won’t leave West Ham on the cheap.
It says everything that this could be the best thing Steidten has done for the Hammers.
Although in fairness to the German who was nicknamed ‘the pearl diver’, not all of his acquisitions have been poor and short-sighted.
Because Steidten actually left West Ham a parting gift nailed on to be worth at least £50m in pure profit.
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