Dean Ashton feels that much of the blame for West Ham United’s relegation belongs to the recruitment department as he singles out Niclas Fullkrug and Jean-Clair Todibo for all the wrong reasons.
The Hammers have spent more than £400 million on new signings since the summer of 2023.
Despite such an outlay, West Ham United would go from a Conference League final in Prague to the Lincoln branch of Premier Inn in the blink of an eye.
Relegation confirmed – where do West Ham go from here?
Nuno Espirito Santo will pay with his job after becoming only the third Hammers coach, after Glenn Roeder and Avram Grant, to suffer relegation from the Premier League.
Former centre-forward Dean Ashton would rather focus on a series of misplaced, overpriced signings rather than those failings in the dugout, however.
West Ham United transfers slammed by Dean Ashton
Ashton references the £27 million spent on Niclas Fullkrug and the £36 million spent on Jean-Clair Todibo. According to The Athletic, Todibo was left out for Sunday’s final day victory over Leeds after a fierce row with Nuno in which he pledged never to play for the head coach again.
Conduct Ashton describes as ‘disgraceful’.
And when you factor in the huge fees wasted on Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Luis Guilherme, Max Kilman and Pablo Felipe, Ashton was spoiled for choice when taking aim at the ill-fated eras of Tim Steidten and Kyle Macaulay, prior to Nuno Espirito Santo seizing control ahead of a desperate January trolley dash.
“It’s the players. I think recruitment’s been the biggest reason why they’ve been relegated,” Ashton tells talkSPORT, albeit while admitting that newly-crowned Hammer of the Year Konstantinos Mavropanos won him over eventually.
“I think it’s obvious when you look at the squad in general, but certainly the signings that haven’t worked.
“Fullkrug came and went, a player that was never suited to the way that West Ham play anyway. Mavropanos has got better but wasn’t very good [initially]. Todibo hasn’t worked.
“Where are the midfield players? Again, you look at the squad list, they’ve got three midfield players really to choose from in terms of Premier League quality.
“Obviously the start of the season was terrible for them, and they’ve been a bit better. But when your manager looks to the starting XI and then looks to the bench, what are you able to bring on?
“It is the big difference. Tottenham have players they could call upon that I think are still capable in the Premier League. I don’t think West Ham have that.”
Who is most to BLAME for West Ham going down? 😠
Explain your choice in the comments… 💭
Jean-Clair Todibo to leave the Hammers under a cloud
Todibo is likely to have played his last game for West Ham, alongside a host of expensively-acquired teammates.
Not for the first time – and only a few months after he was sent off for violent conduct at Stamford Bridge – the Frenchman’s discipline and professionalism is under fire.
“I mean, if [those Todibo reports are] true, it’s disgraceful, of course it is,” fumes Ashton, the former Barcelona defender storming off – and straight past his coach – with just 28 minutes on the clock on Tyneside.
“There’s no way you shouldn’t want to be part of saving the club from relegation.
“You could tell how angry he was. He blanked the manager at St James’ Park when he was brought off, when he was so poor in the game anyway. He should really have been looking inwardly at himself, not the fact it was him that was taken off.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
