Director confirms West Ham were battling Manchester City to sign £13m wonderkid

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In the midst of a hectic summer of incomings and outgoings, it can be difficult to keep track. Especially at West Ham United, the Premier League outfit in the midst of a substantial overhaul.

A substantial and probably necessary overhaul.

The plan, right from the beginning of the summer, was that West Ham would reinvent Graham Potter’s squad upon a foundation of young, hungry talent. While moving on no fewer than eight players aged between 30 and 40, the Hammers also invested heavily on Mateus Fernandes, Soungoutou Magassa and El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Their three most expensive new signings, tellingly, were all aged between 20 and 21 respectively.

Senegalese striking sensation and new Udinese attacker Idrissa Gueye would have fitted in pretty well too, then, at a West Ham United outfit seemingly making a concerted effort to modernise their recruitment strategy.

Udinese boss Gianluca Nani confirms West Ham United wanted Idrissa Gueye

Per The Sun’s Alan Nixon, head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay arranged for the Hammers to scout Gueye during a pre-season friendly between Lens and his FC Metz side.

French publication Foot Mercato then reported that West Ham had opened talks with the Ligue 1 newcomers. ‘Desperate’, allegedly, to fight off competition from some of the biggest clubs on the continent.

So, what happened after that? Why did Gueye end the window as an Udinese player? La Zabrette reached an agreement regarding an initial loan deal with a clause to make it permanent later down the line for up to £13 million.

And Gianluca Nani, Udinese’s technical director speaking to Il Messaggero Veneto, now confirms that West Ham were indeed interested in an 18-year-old frontman who was likened to a young Olivier Giroud at Metz.

They weren’t the only ones.

“One of our goals is to continue investing in young players, as is the club’s hallmark, pairing them with more ready players,” Nani says, Udinese having also snapped up Scottish starlet Lennon Miller from Motherwell.

“Gueye is a boy with the ‘X-factor’. Another classic Udinese move, given that he was being followed by clubs like Manchester City, West Ham, and Borussia Dortmund.”

West Ham prioritised other additions before landing Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa

While Udinese signed Idrissa Gueye from under the noses of far bigger and far richer clubs, Victor Boniface joined Werder Bremen on loan from Bayer Leverkusen as the window closed without a new centre-forward arriving at the London Stadium.

Now, Hammers News can confirm that those striker targets found themselves relatively low down the list of priorities heading into the final few weeks of the summer.

West Ham arguably needed a goalkeeper, a centre-half, and at least two midfielders a lot more than they needed another number nine, especially with Niclas Fullkrug staying, Callum Wilson arriving with a point to prove, and the versatile Jarrod Bowen providing another option.

Whether delaying that striker signing proves to be a good decision or not, only time will tell.

Amid all the early criticism, Callum Wilson has made a very impressive start to life with the Hammers. Clearly, there is a lot of bark left in this old dog.

Former England international Darren Bent believes West Ham’s number nine can score 15 Premier League goals this season too, if he stays fit of course.

“Listen, they have brought in some good players,” former Aston Villa, Tottenham and Sunderland striker Bent told talkSPORT.

“Callum Wilson, if he stays fit, he will score goals for them. From now to the end of the season, if he doesn’t get an injury, he will score 15 goals. I don’t have any doubts about that.

“A fit Callum Wilson doesn’t go to West Ham, he’s still at Newcastle.”