West Ham leak that top star is leaving and Kyle Macauley already has replacement lined up

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It looks set to be a case of one in and one out at West Ham as the club’s new head of recruitment makes big summer plans.

If West Ham fans thought last summer was busy then they may have seen nothing yet.

There was a 21-player turnaround during Tim Steidten’s £155m splurge last year.

Now it seems the Hammers could be on course for an overhaul specifically targeting the age and talent of the squad.

Graham Potter has always made it clear he builds teams around young, dynamic stars.

There will always be room for the odd experienced head.

Out with the old and in with the young at West Ham

But Hammers News has been told by top sources inside the club that the main aim is to revitalise the oldest squad in the Premier League.

PSR impacts all clubs nowadays. Even the world’s richest sports team – Newcastle United – have been forced to sell to buy.

West Ham are no different.

And after losing the added revenue of Europe, cloth has to be cut accordingly. Especially as Premier League clubs recently voted to keep PSR in its current state for next season.

West Ham plan to raise around £100m in player sales providing buyers can be found.

West Ham leak that top star is leaving

The club paid Chelsea £1.2m to bring Kyle Macauley in as the new head of recruitment.

Those who followed the January transfer window rumour mill will have seen Macauley’s impact almost immediately.

West Ham went from being linked to cheap deals for a number of players in their 30s to targeting young, emerging talents from across Europe.

It is widely accepted that the Irons made a major mistake with their striker dealings last summer.

Steidten elected to sign Niclas Fullkrug and Luis Guilherme with the £45m plus he’d been alloted for a new striker.

The logic was West Ham were getting a tried and tested player for the here and now plus a future prospect.

Macauley already has Hammers replacement lined up

The reality is that those who questioned the wisdom of signing a slow, ageing and injury-prone forward were proved correct.

Fullkrug will have spent the vast majority of the season out injured by the time he returns in April.

Hammers News revealed Fullkrug would have been sold in January had he not been injured.

Juventus and German clubs wanted the 32-year-old on loan with obligations to buy.

Now a West Ham leak has revealed that top star Fullkrug is almost certainly leaving this summer.

The good news is Macauley already has his replacement lined up.

One German striker out and another in at West Ham

A top West Ham board source has confirmed to Claret and Hugh that Fullkrug will become the latest in a long line of striker flops when he is offloaded in a few months.

“Nobody expects him Fullkrug to be here next season,” the Hammers board source told the site.

It is a case of out with the old and in with the young.

It also seems it could be one German out and another German in at the London Stadium.

According to respected German publication Bild, West Ham have identified Mainz striker Jonathan Burkardt as their Fullkrug replacement.

On paper it looks like a very clever plan from the Hammers.

Macauley sets sights on star with 17 goals and assists

Burkardt is eight years Fullkrug’s junior.

He has seriously impressed for Mainz this season, scoring 14 goals and laying on three assists in 20 Bundesliga appearances.

Bild suggest Mainz are looking for around £40m for the 24-year-old forward, who earned his first two caps for Germany last year.

While £40m may sound a lot for the Hammers given their restricted budget, the club plan to raise at least £15m with the sale of Fullkrug to offset against it.

In terms of style, Burkardt is a fox-in-the-box type of striker.

With Potter moulding West Ham into a team which has a lot more possession than in previous seasons, that kind of forward could be just what the team needs.