West Ham make one thing perfectly clear about Kyle Macaulay — now watch for Jorge Mendes factor

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West Ham have made one thing very clear about Kyle Macaulay after announcing his expected departure and now there could be a major shift behind the scenes.

There have been more significant changes at West Ham.

Graham Potter was sacked after a dismal eight month spell in charge of the Hammers and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo two weeks ago.

All of Potter’s staff departed the London Stadium with him and Nuno is set to appoint his own backroom team in the near future after working with Academy coaches for his first two games.

Back in January, after technical director Tim Steidten followed Julen Lopetegui in being axed by David Sullivan, Hammers News exclusively revealed West Ham were paying £1.2m to bring Kyle Macaulay in from Chelsea.

West Ham make one thing perfectly clear about Macaulay

Recruitment guru Kyle Macaulay has worked with Potter at each of his clubs and was appointed as West Ham’s head of recruitment.

But it was always going to be an awkward mix with Macaulay using a data-led approach to identifying targets and Sullivan, the de facto director of football, predominantly using agents.

And so it proved as Macaulay had little time to make an impact before following Potter out of the West Ham exit on Thursday.

West Ham somewhat hung Steidten out to dry when they announced his exit in January.

The Hammers hierarchy made it clear Steidten had been in full control of transfers.

Hammers board make it clear Macaulay was Potter’s man

Now West Ham have made one thing perfectly clear about Macaulay in their statement on his departure.

And the influence of super agent Jorge Mendes could now be a major factor in east London.

In a very brief statement on West Ham’s official website, it has been confirmed Macaulay has left the club.

And the Hammers made a point of stating he was very much Potter’s hire and not theirs.

“Kyle arrived at West Ham United in January as part of the backroom staff under previous men’s Head Coach Graham Potter,” the statement reads.

“We would like to thank Kyle for his dedication and hard work and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

Those future endeavours will inevitably be alongside Potter in his next job, wherever that may be.

Now watch for Jorge Mendes factor at West Ham

But what now for West Ham’s transfer recruitment as the Hammers board publicly wash their hands of the Macaulay appointment by making it clear he was Potter’s man?

That is where Nuno’s right-hand man Mendes is expected to have an impact – albeit in an unofficial capacity.

Back on September 19th Hammers News exclusively revealed West Ham had met with Nuno about taking the job.

It was also revealed that one element Nuno wanted assurances on was that he and Mendes would have a big say on signings.

We reported that Nuno likes to use his own people for transfers, which includes super agent Mendes, who runs the talent-packed GestiFute firm.

One of the big reasons Nuno fell out with Evangelos Marinakis was that the Forest owner brought in sporting director Edu from Arsenal to oversee transfers.

The Brazilian is known to work with Kia Joorabchian – a name West Ham fans will remember well from the Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano saga.

That meant less of a say for Nuno and Mendes.

New Hammers boss Nuno works closely with Mendes on transfers

But that will be restored as one of the reassurances offered when West Ham appointed the former Wolves boss.

Mendes’ influence at Wolves became somewhat controversial as he helped fill their team with a host of Portuguese stars.

He enabled the Molineux club to sign players that would otherwise have been well out of their reach.

So his influence in helping the Hammers get deals done or access to certain players is potentially very exciting.

Especially if it is Nuno picking the signings as most fans would prefer.