Former West Ham United manager Harry Redknapp has high hopes about the latest new face through the door at the Premier League outfit.
Unfortunately, his optimism is not something shared by the majority of London Stadium matchgoers, it seems.
While El Hadji Malick Diouf earned Graham Potter’s praise after creating both of West Ham United’s goals during the 2-0 win over Bournemouth in Georgia, while Kyle Walker-Peters feels like the sort of low-risk, low-cost signing which seldom backfires, the addition of Callum Wilson has got fans talking. And not necessarily in a good way.
West Ham agreed a short-term deal with Callum Wilson on Saturday.
And, while a source close to the board is quick to inform Hammers News that this is a deal heavily incentivised by appearance bonuses, the fact is that Wilson is a 33-year-old centre-forward who missed over 100 games during five seasons at Newcastle.
Harry Redknapp can understand concerns over his insidious injury record. But if Wilson can avoid a return to the treatment table – and that is a big ‘if’ indeed – then maybe a frustrated Hammers fanbase could be surprised.
Harry Redknapp backs Callum Wilson at West Ham United
Redknapp, who coached both West Ham and Wilson’s former employers Bournemouth from 1983 to 2001, watched the England international’s progression from EFL marksman to top-flight goal-getter with a keen interest.
“If Callum stays fit, he will be an outstanding player for them,” the Bournemouth-based Redknapp tells talkSPORT. “We all know he’s had problems with injuries. That has been the problem for Callum.
“But when he’s on the pitch, he’s certainly a good player and he’s a good lad as well. So I’m hoping he goes there and does well.”
Wilson lit a fire under his Premier League career with a thrilling hat-trick against West Ham in the red and black stripes of Bournemouth all the way back in 2015.
Former Bournemouth and Newcastle striker Wilson opens up on Michail Antonio message
A decade on, Wilson’s tally of goals versus the Hammers stands at 12 in 16 matches.
No wonder the veteran frontman is determined to make it up to the West Ham fans whose nightmares he has haunted like Freddie Krueger’s football-obsessed cousin over the course of the last ten years.
“I’ve spoken with Michail [Antonio, a close friend and West Ham icon], and he only mentioned positive things about the club,” Wilson reveals. “(Michail) said it’s a great opportunity…
“Obviously what’s gone on before is gone, it’s in the past, it’s ultimately about the badge on the front of the shirt, not the name and the number on the back so, for me, judge me week in week out when I’m giving 110 per cent for the team.
I think when I first joined the Premier League many years ago, I scored my first Premier League goal against West Ham, which resulted in a hat-trick.
“Ultimately, you get confidence from that every time you step out on the field against a team of such stature. The fans are so passionate; Singing, chanting, the bubbles are flowing… And as an opposition player when you come into that environment it actually gets you going a little bit as well, so I guess that was kind of what happened.
“I had a friend here, Michail, who also would tell me; ‘If I score against you, I have to do celebrations’. So it brought an extra five or ten per cent each time I played. But now I’m here to score for West Ham and, like I say, the goals that I scored against them I’ll repay that by scoring for them.”
Redknapp, meanwhile, saw Niclas Fullkrug and Jarrod Bowen fire Graham Potter’s side past Bournemouth in the final match of their Premier League Summer Series campaign on Sunday.
“I watched the game,” says the 78-year-old, seeing Evanilson hit the post from point-blank range before Fullkrug opened the scoring at the other end. “To be fair, Bournemouth could have been two or three up in the first 20 minutes, so Bournemouth look alright.
“But hopefully a much better year for West Ham this year.”
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