New claims about Daniel Kretinsky and £50m striker Patrik Schick sound great but is West Ham boss David Moyes on board?
Many West Ham fans are still seething at the lack of investment during the January transfer window.
Ther Hammers are fighting on three fronts during the season run in.
So supporters fans were understandably angry when a squad clearly lacking in key areas was not added to last month.
With Czech billionaire Kretinsky and new head of recruitment Rob Newman on board, hopes were high.
But all West Ham fans got were headlines and hot air as the window closed with gaping holes in a squad running on fumes.
January will be viewed as a golden opportunity missed if West Ham’s season falters now.
And supporters are understandably starting to question why Kretinsky has come to east London.
Amidst those questions came new claims yesterday that the Hammers’s second biggest stakeholder and Sparta Prague owner could bankroll a move for £50m-rated striker and fellow Czech Schick in the summer.
Shick starred alongside West Ham trio Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Alex Kral at the Euros last summer.
New claims about Daniel Kretinsky and £50m striker Patrik Schick sound great but is West Ham boss David Moyes on board?
He was linked with a move to West Ham from Bayer Leverkusen after those performances in both the summer window and again in January (Calcio Mercato).
With 20 goals in 20 Bundesliga games so far this season, Schick has carried his international form on at club level.
Now website Claret and Hugh claims a top West Ham insider has told them Kretinsky could bankroll a big bid for Schick, who came through Sparta Prague’s youth system before being sold to Sampdoria.
“Daniel Kretinsky may be ready to plunge funds into a bid for Bayer Leverkusen star Patrik Schick this summer as the Hammers look to sign a striker,” Claret and Hugh state.
“A top club insider has told us that Kretinsky is a big fan of the 26-year-old, who came up through the ranks at Sparta Prague, the club in which the Hammers investor has a stake in.”
Sounds great doesn’t it for a headline?
West Ham want £50m striker. But unless David Moyes actually wants Schick, then Kretinsky’s alleged grand gesture means nothing.
Moyes has insisted he has final say on all transfers and there is nothing to suggest that will change. Schick is undoubtedly a quality forward and West Ham fans would love to see him at the club.
It is Moyes’s opinion that matters, though. And after all the hot air of January – with supposed bids for players West Ham had next to no hope of signing – fans will want to see actions rather than words this summer.