West Ham may already be feeling the impact of letting transfer deal maker Tim Steidten go as they look to save a deal for Celtic star.
Although he actually the club earlier in January, West Ham officially announced the departure of Tim Steidten following the closure of the winter transfer window.
It was a window in which West Ham struggled to get deals done – including what looked like a straightforward one with Scottish giants Celtic.
West Ham’s only arrival was striker Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton.
Bournemouth beat the Hammers to young striker Eli Junior Kroupi.
But West Ham had looked set to seal the arrival of another hot prospect 18-year-old forward from Celtic, Daniel Cummings.
Sky Sports reported West Ham were in talks to sign Celtic’s Scottish forward after being alerted by Portsmouth making a move for him.
Originally it was claimed the Hammers were trying to agree a pre-contract for a move in the summer.
West Ham task legend with saving deal for Celtic star
Cummings has reportedly grown restless at a lack of opportunity at Celtic, who have been trying to tie him down to a new deal.
In a clear attempt to show Cummings that Celtic is the right place for him, Brendan Rodgers gave the Scotland U19 international his debut on Wednesday night in the Champions League defeat at Aston Villa.
Sky Sports then confirmed the Hammers had actually offered Celtic £500k for Cummings to do a deal before Monday night’s transfer deadline.
Rodgers raged at Cummings’ agent as West Ham closed on the move.
But deadline day came and went without the Irons sealing a deal with the Bhoys after they rejected the bid.
Rodgers has pleaded with Cummings to show patience and stay with Celtic.
Now West Ham have tasked a club legend with saving the deal for Celtic star Cummings as talks stall after their bid was snubbed.
Noble cause as Cummings talks stall after bid snub
When Mark Noble was initially appointed as a director at West Ham, his role was to help oversee transfers and recruitment.
But he quickly discovered that was not for him and transitioned across to be the bridge between the first team and Academy.
Noble is arguably one of the most important people at West Ham.
Now, in the wake of Steidten’s departure, it seems he will be reassuming some responsibility for deals – particularly involving young players.
Because according to a close contact of majority owner David Sullivan, Noble has been tasked with getting a deal agreed with Cummings to join West Ham.
Sean Whetstone says Noble, whose official title is sporting director, has been ‘put in charge of signing Celtic striker Cummings on a pre-contract’ for the summer.
Whetstone claims Celtic actually rejected two separate bids from West Ham to get the deal done before Monday’s winter window deadline.
Celtic trying to change striker’s mind
He claims Celtic are still trying to change the player’s mind on a move.
If Noble does manage to get the agreement over the line, Celtic will need to rely on compensation set by FIFA – which is likely to be no more than the offer the Hammers made.
While it’s great to see Noble being handed such responsibility, the fact West Ham have not been able to get this deal done suggests they are feeling the impact of Steidten leaving.
Whatever your stance on Steidten, there is no denying he got transfers over the line.
This is a big chance for Noble to show he can have a similar influence in sealing the signature of a player identified by Graham Potter and new head of recruitment Kyle Macauley.
Cummings is one of a host of young stars linked with West Ham since Macauley’s arrival as the club looks to lower the average age of the oldest squad in the Premier League.
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