Unrest is beginning to surface at West Ham over what has been described as a “mad” £20million move for little-known striker Pablo by a prominent insider close to David Sullivan.
With West Ham staring relegation in the face, the club knows they need to pull off their best January window ever.
The Hammers know there needs to be more signings like Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Dean Ashton than Evan Ferguson and Kalvin Phillips.
West Ham’s recruitment over the last few years has been utterly abysmal.
It is the primary reason the Irons find themselves needing a minor miracle to stay in the Premier League.
Friction at West Ham over imminent £20m Pablo deal
Nuno Espirito Santo is the man tasked with turning West Ham around but has already hit choppy waters after just three months in charge.
Speculation has been swirling that Nuno could be sacked after the Hammers took just one point from back-to-back must-win home games against Fulham and Brighton to extend their winless run to eight games.
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Cut adrift by five points in the bottom three, there is no doubt a trip to basement boys Wolves – who have not won a league game all season – is the biggest must-win in West Ham’s modern history.
Ominously for the Hammers, though, Wolves beat them in the Carabao Cup this season and have started playing much better in recent weeks – drawing 1-1 at Man United last time out.
The club know they must get their transfer business right in this window.
But there has been friction behind the scenes between the head coach and the owners.
Nuno insisted he would only focus on transfers when the window is open.
West Ham’s owners then called Nuno out over transfers, claiming he has been ‘very slow’ to approve targets to sign.
The Portuguese hit back, though, as Nuno issued the Hammers board with an ultimatum, demanding signings as quickly as possible.
They appeared to listen when it emerged West Ham are on the verge of a double deal as the club races to get two new signings registered for the Wolves clash.
Top West Ham source questions Nuno’s striker move
But now West Ham unrest has emerged over a ‘mad’ £20m deal for little-known striker Pablo.
Fulham outcast Adama Traore is set to reunite with Nuno at West Ham.
Imagine if Nuno were to be sacked…😮
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Hammers News exclusively revealed West Ham would be signing Traore all the way back in October.
The muscle-bound winger will sign in a £3m deal and the club wants him available to face his old club Wolves.
He looks set to be joined by 21-year-old striker Pablo, who plays for Gil Vicente in Portugal.
When Nuno first arrived in east London, Hammers News revealed his agent Jorge Mendes would be having a hand in West Ham’s transfers.
That has also now been proved accurate with Nuno’s super-agent sidekick Jorge Mendes the man who has brokered the imminent £20m deal for Pablo, who has scored 10 goals and laid on an assist in 13 games so far this season.
West Ham had been scouring the domestic market for strikers who know the English game.
But the club are now on the verge of signing a player few will have ever heard of.
And it seems the deal may be causing further friction behind the scenes.
Prominent Hammers insider Sean Whetstone is a close confidant of Hammers chief David Sullivan.
And Whetstone has claimed his ‘top transfer source’ at West Ham believes the deal for Pablo is ‘madness’.
West Ham’s Pablo deal is ‘madness’ says source of Sullivan ally
Whetstone confirmed the deal is close and that Pablo is a client of Mendes.
The insider states that while Pablo is rated as a top prospect, there is a recognition within West Ham that he will need time to adjust to the Premier League.
And the Sullivan ally says one transfer source has described the £20m deal as ‘madness’.
With fans already wary after recent recruitment missteps, questions will be asked about due diligence, value for money, and whether the club’s transfer strategy should be drifting away from proven Premier League-ready profiles given the situation the Hammers are in.
Fans may not have long to wait to find out with West Ham pushing hard to get Pablo registered for Wolves by Friday’s 12pm deadline.
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