West Ham’s new excuse for lack of signings is exciting but extremely risky

Add as preferred source on Google

West Ham are well aware fans are getting restless over the club’s summer transfer window inactivity and now they’ve delivered a new excuse.

Graham Potter was quick to spot it when he took over West Ham back in January.

“As I said before, West Ham fans, they know their football,” Potter said of Hammers supporters after they stayed to applaud his team off following a harsh 2-1 defeat at his old club Chelsea.

Potter had said something similar about West Ham fans at his unveiling as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement too.

And the 50-year-old has mentioned it again since.

West Ham fans are fiercely passionate, loyal but also demanding.

They don’t expect unrealistic achievement – like challenging for titles or trophies year in, year out.

Nor do they expect to win every week.

All West Ham fans want is some ambition – on and off the pitch

But what West Ham fans do expect is for their team and the club to ‘have a go’.

Especially after being lured from their beloved Upton Park home to an athletics stadium on the promise it would enable them to do just that.

West Ham fans also don’t suffer fools and won’t tolerate being treated like them either.

It takes some going to kill the enthusiasm of a fanbase filled with hopeless optimists.

That is what West Ham have been doing over the last 18 months, though.

Just 15 wins from 57 Premier League games and the owners now insisting there’s no money for a much-needed summer transfer window rebuild unless a number of players are sold.

The latter is not totally abnormal in the modern game where PSR dictates even the world’s richest single sports team – Newcastle United – have to do the same.

West Ham fans will accept players being sold if it means Potter is given most of the money to build his own team.

Every fan of any club would love nothing more than fiercely ambitious owners who are ready to use every loophole available to them to get around PSR.

Unless this is the most ingenuous smoke and mirrors approach to a transfer window in West Ham’s modern history, it is clear David Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky will not be doing that.

West Ham’s new transfer excuse is exciting but extremely risky

West Ham’s board told fans ‘not to panic’ over transfer inactivity last week.

The Hammers’ hierarchy then stated ‘anything is possible’ when asked whether West Ham might be able to make some signings before sales – in the knowledge players will definitely be offloaded for a certain amount.

Now West Ham have issued a fresh explanation for their sluggish start to the summer transfer window.

And it’s one that might just excite many fans but also has a serious element of risk.

In fact the latest excuse for a lack of signings so far could come at a big cost if things don’t go to plan.

West Ham pessimists will see it as an excuse and optimists as an understandable explanation.

Under 21 Euros cited as reason for West Ham’s lack of signings

But a new reasoning offered for the lack of activity thus far – just over nine days into the full summer transfer window – is that a high number of targets in the sights of Potter and head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay are Under 21 internationals.

And having either just been eliminated from the Under 21 Euros currently taking place in Slovakia, or still playing in the tournament, it has held the Hammers up.

That explanation has been offered to Hammers News – and also reported by longstanding West Ham fan site KUMB as well as ExWHUemployee – as ‘one of several reasons’ behind a slow start to transfer window proceedings.

That tournament comes to an end this weekend – so the excuse/explanation will soon be put to the test.

Interestingly England, Holland, Germany and France make up the last four.

Potter has made it clear he wants to rebuild West Ham around young players.

So the reasoning tallies with that objective.

Hammers fans will believe it when they see it

Some West Ham fans will refuse to believe it until they see some evidence.

And it will only add insult to injury if it turns out to be another line to string supporters along and keep a lid on backlash over transfers.

There are a couple of positives in the meantime.

Because two top class talents, a striker and midfielder, are already joining the Hammers on July 1.

Whether more join them when the Under 21 Euros is over, remains to be seen.

It’s an exciting claim and strategy.

But it’s also risky because if West Ham don’t pull moves off for some of those stars, supporters won’t forget it.

However, too many young players in the same team also presents an element of risk in what’s expected to be the most hotly contested Premier League for years.