With Nuno Espirito Santo and Jorge Mendes expected to have a big say on transfers at West Ham United, it feels like only a matter of time before Kyle Macaulay follows Graham Potter out the door.
Potter’s trusted right-hand man worked with the recently departed Hammers in a variety of roles at Ostersunds, Swansea City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea before they were reunited yet again at the London Stadium.
Now though, with Potter gone, the club’s head of recruitment is more vulnerable than ever. Lost at sea without a life raft.
Hammers News can confirm that Macaulay’s departure is also expected to be confirmed sooner rather than later. Nuno Espirito Santo demanded a controlling influence on the transfer front when negotiating his eventual three-year contract, meaning he and the extremely well-connected, so-called ‘super-agent’ Jorge Mendes are likely to be given the space to build a team to their demands.
Simply put, there appears to be no room for Macaulay in this brave, post-potter world at West Ham United.
Whether this spells an end to West Ham’s interest in Midtjylland striker Franculino Dju, only time will tell.
But after Hammers News discovered that Franculino Dju was a player identified by Kyle Macaulay in conjunction with Potter – one of a number of exciting young centre-forwards under consideration – it would be a surprise if he featured particularly highly on any January wishlists.
And not just because he was a Macaulay target, rather than a Jorge Mendes client.
Kyle Macaulay’s West Ham United target Franculino Dju has stopped scoring in Denmark
After West Ham missed out on Ibrahim Osman to Brighton in 2024, they returned a year later for another sprightly young African talent making his name in the Danish Superliga.
A route Mohammed Kudus also took, spending time at Nordsjaelland before really making his name with Ajax.
According to Denmark-based publication Bold, West Ham saw a £13 million rejected by Midtjylland for the Benfica academy graduate during the final few days of the summer transfer window.
Bayern Munich reportedly submitted an offer of their own, while reporter Farzam Abolhosseini told the Transferguru podcast that Paris Saint-Germain were scouting Franculino Dju as well.
Midtjylland may have retained the services of the Guinea Bissau international beyond the September deadline, but a big-money sale later down the line felt inevitable. We use the past tense of ‘felt’, rather than the present tense ‘feels’, however, because the form which caught the attention of Bayern, PSG and West Ham has not been seen since.
It may be no coincidence that Franculino Dju’s last goal came on August 24th. Days before that reported West Ham bid, and links with some of Europe’s A-list institutions emerged.
Midtjylland coach Mike Tullberg expects former Benfica starlet to bounce back
After beginning the campaign with nine goals in 10 games, the 21-year-old has now failed to score in his last eight appearances for club and country.
A barren run Midtjylland head coach Mike Tullberg puts down to the capriciousness of youth, rather than any transfer window-fuelled distractions.
“You can’t expect [Franculino Dju] to just go in and score one or two goals every game,” Tullberg protested to TV2 after his star striker drew another blank in the 2-1 weekend win over Randers.
“And it is my task, together with Franculino, to get out of him what we know is in him. I am sure we will get that. He is a happy boy and, when I talk to him, I don’t get the feeling that there is any bitterness at all [regarding the lack of a transfer].
“It’s clear that there have been some things around Franculino. It’s a difficult situation to be in, and [a dip in form] is natural.”
Hammers News have been told that West Ham have already discussed the January transfer window with new head coach Nuno. The striking department may be an area in need of reinforcement too. While the West Ham fans clamour for Callum Marshall to be given a chance, Niclas Fullkrug and Callum Wilson have scored only one Premier League goal between them so far.
Alongside Franculino Dju, meanwhile, Idrissa Gueye was another Kyle Macaulay target.
After eventually sealing a £13 million deadline day move from Metz to Udinese, the Serie A outfit confirmed West Ham’s interest in a forward two years Franculino Dju’s junior at just 19.
Dju’s Midtjylland outfit host Nottingham Forest in the Europa League on Thursday night. What a time that would be for him to end his eight-game drought.
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