Just last week Graham Potter made it clear he wants West Ham to be ‘unified and aligned’ on transfers but two shock new striker moves suggest David Sullivan is very much at the wheel.
West Ham have made it clear new strikers are a top priority this summer.
Danny Ings has been released and Evan Ferguson is returning to Brighton after his woeful loan spell.
A top Hammers reporter claims Michail Antonio is now ‘unlikely’ to be handed a new West Ham deal.
And Graham Potter has made something painfully clear about Niclas Fullkrug.
Potter says he only sees Fullkrug as a back-up striker for the Hammers.
In a new brutally honest interview, outspoken German Fullkrug has dropped the biggest hint yet he could leave West Ham.
All change up front for West Ham this summer
Potter has stated he wants to trim down his Hammers squad.
But it is clear West Ham need to sign at least two new strikers and perhaps even three.
Celtic starlet Daniel Cummings is joining West Ham on a free transfer.
The Scottish striker sensation bagged 30 goals for Celtic’s B team last season – and that is playing in the Scottish pyramid not against youth teams.
Cummings has signed for the Hammers on the promise of being part of Potter’s first team squad.
Now attentions are turning to signing a more established forward.
Potter has demanded West Ham transfer unity but a shock new double striker move smacks of David Sullivan.
The manager, head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay and de facto director of football Sullivan are working together on West Ham’s most important summer transfer window for years.
Ahead of the last game of the season, Potter fired his first warning to Sullivan over West Ham transfers.
The Englishman made it clear he will be heavily involved in all signings.
Potter has also put on record that he wants to lower the age of West Ham’s squad, stating young players give something more as well as having all-important resale value.
Then, speaking after the season-ending win over Ipswich, Potter said Macaulay is ‘very busy’ lining up targets.
In that update, the Hammers boss stated he wants the club to be aligned on targets and philosophy to make the right decisions together.
“We need to plan, we need to reflect, we need to make the right decisions in terms of what we do going forward and it’s going to be an exciting and interesting summer,” Potter said.
“In an ideal world you want to do things early but sometimes it’s not like that, you have to be patient, you have to do the right things rather than the quick things,” he added.
“If we can do anything (quickly) we will. But making the right decision, aligned, together is the focus for us.”
Potter demands unity but double striker move smacks of Sullivan
But with the summer window just two days old, two strikers have been linked with moves to the London Stadium.
And they bear all the hallmarks of Sullivan-esque signings.
Daily Express journalist Charlie Gordon has claimed in an exclusive that West Ham want to sign a 30-year-old forward from the German second division.
It is reported that Davie Selke of Hamburg is being lined up on a free transfer by the Hammers.
Selke scored 22 goals in 31 games to help Hamburg back to the Bundesliga after a seven-year absence.
It is reported that West Ham have reached out about bringing Selke to the club as have other German sides.
Selke sorely lacks pace and has only ever scored more than 10 goals in a season twice in his 14 years as a professional.
West Ham fans feel the cheap move for a striker the wrong side of 30 has Sullivan’s fingerprints all over it.
Given Potter’s stated desire to bring in young, dynamic players, the Selke move does not signify ‘alignment’.
On the same day the Selke link has emerged, West Ham are reportedly plotting a move for another slow, ageing forward.
Is this really Potter’s vision for West Ham?
Until his move to Saudi Arabia, West Ham were linked with Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic in just about every single transfer window – dating all the way back to 2019.
Undoubtedly a quality finisher – and the kind of character Hammers fans love – Mitrovic hardly fits the profile of player Potter has suggested he wants.
Yet talkSPORT claim a Premier League return is on the cards for Mitrovic as West Ham are said to be in touch with his camp and monitoring the situation.
Given Mitrovic has been regularly linked with the Hammers under Sullivan’s stewardship heading up the club’s transfers, it’s easy to believe this report might have legs.
If the reports are accurate – and that is a big ‘if’ during the transfer window – then it doesn’t paint a picture of the transfer unity and alignment Potter has demanded.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
