There has been much debate about whether West Ham should keep Carlos Soler but now a decision has been made.
Carlos Soler has been a breath of fresh air off the pitch at West Ham since arriving from PSG.
Being on loan from the Paris giants and earning a cool £240k per week – £80k of which is picked up by West Ham – Soler could just go through the motions given how dismal the season has been.
Yet many have likened Soler to his fellow Spaniard Pablo Fornals for his positive attitude and the way he has embraced being a Hammer.
Unfortunately Soler has blown hot and cold on the pitch.
The Spaniard actually put in his worst performance yet for West Ham in the 1-0 defeat to Brentford.
Although that could be said of most of the starting XI if truth be told.
Signing Soler outright was never going to be easy for West Ham. His £240k per week at PSG runs until 2027.
Soler done at West Ham journalist confirms
So the midfielder is due another £23m in wages from the mega rich French champions over the next two years.
Nobody in their right mind would give up that kind of money.
The only way West Ham would be able to do a deal would be if PSG supplemented the difference in wages between what he was on there and what he will get in east London by way of a payout.
It’s a moot point, though.
After the defeat to Brentford at the weekend, a club source revealed West Ham were leaning towards not signing Soler.
It was claimed the decision was going to be made with Soler returning to PSG as part of a “clearing of the decks”.
That’s as Potter and new head of recruitment Kyle Macauley look to bring in their own players.
A big focus of the squad revamp will be on youth and bringing the age of the Premier League’s oldest squad down.
Now Soler really is done at West Ham as Macauley identifies an exciting replacement.
When demoting and then ultimately sacking Tim Steidten ahead of the winter window, majority owner David Sullivan said West Ham must look to do ‘smarter deals’.
That translates to signing young, promising players on modest wages who can be incentivised to improve.
And – should they do well – West Ham then have the option to sell them on for a profit in the future, something that is so important given the bearing PSR has on spending.
Journalist Ben Jacobs was the first to reveal Declan Rice was going to be joining Arsenal from West Ham – way back in the December before that £105m summer transfer.
Macauley identifies exciting replacement for West Ham
Jacobs was also among the first to reveal West Ham were signing Lucas Paqueta from Lyon.
So West Ham fans should be enthused by a claim he is making about the player Macauley is lining up to take Soler’s place this summer.
Writing on GiveMeSport, Jacobs claims West Ham have ‘made contact’ with Shakhtar Donetsk about signing playmaker Georgiy Sudakov.
Jacobs says a summer exit is likely for the 22-year-old Ukraine midfielder.
Sudakov’s current boss Marino Pusic has labelled as ‘exceptionally talented‘.
And that is backed up by his numbers with 24 goals in 89 appearances and being ranked head and shoulders Shakhtar’s best player.
Sudakov can fill several voids as West Ham eye sales
Sudakov is exactly the profile of player West Ham fans feel the club should be targeting.
The fact he has been on Chelsea’s radar over the last year proves he is a player Macauley likes.
Because the talent spotter joined the Hammers from Stamford Bridge to be reunited with Potter last month.
The one big concern is Shakhtar’s valuation.
Reports say they want between £40-50m. That will be steep for the Hammers based on recent claims that the club will be forced to sell in order to buy this summer.
However, with Mohammed Kudus likely to be one of those and possibly Paqueta too, there will be money available for Sudakov.
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