There was no sign of reported West Ham United target Lucas Stassin as St Etienne began their pre-season training on Thursday, the Premier League-linked centre-forward conspicuous by his absence.
Was this the biggest indication yet that St Etienne’s Belgium Under-21 international attacker had one foot and perhaps a few extra toes out the Stade Geoffroy Guichard exit door?
After West Ham United clattered head-first into various brick walls in pursuit of a new number nine – Emmanuel Emegha could join Chelsea alongside Liam Delap, Yuri Alberto is staying in Brazil, and Jonathan David keeps the Hammers at arm’s length – could Lucas Stassin be the man to lead Graham Potter’s team from the front next season?
Well, maybe.
While a club source recently told Hammers News that reports of talks taking place were wide of the mark, that could change soon enough. Especially after St Etienne dropped Stassin’s price-tag to £18 million following their relegation to Ligue 2.
But as far as his absence from the start of pre-season training goes, Les Verts coach Eirik Horneland has wasted no time in providing a rather straightforward explanation.
St Etienne striker Lucas Stassin - FBL-FRA-LIGUE1-MONTPELLIER-SAINT-ETIENNE
Photo by SYLVAIN THOMAS/AFP via Getty Images
St Etienne coach Eirik Horneland thinks West Ham United won’t sign Lucas Stassin
Stassin’s absence, Horneland said, was simply because the 20-year-old is still recovering from a foot injury which required surgery.
Furthermore, the former Rosenborg and Norway Under-19 coach remains confident that he will have Stassin at his disposal when the new campaign kicks off.
“Firstly, Lucas Stassin had an operation on June 5th following,” Horneland tells Ma Ligue 2. “He will be back and available on June 26th I think.
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“I expect Lucas Stassin to be there next season, of course. I think he will stay. I think he will stay because he is a very good player, he is 20 years old, he has a long contract with us, and we spent a lot of money to have him with us.
“He played top football over the last six months with us. Before that, he was struggling in Ligue 1. I think he had a great end to the season and he must build on that.
“He has a contract [until the summer of 2028]. It does not depend on him, it depends on us.”
He has a point, of course.
Stassin, though, is unlikely to relish playing second-tier football. Especially at a time when numerous clubs across various top-level leagues are taking an interest.
Wolves and Sporting Lisbon join West Ham in Stassin race
Rennes, Marseille or Lille may offer Stassin another stab at Ligue 1. RB Leipzig are interested too, as are a Sporting Lisbon outfit expected to lose their 54-goal talisman Viktor Gyokeres.
And if West Ham decide to shift their focus elsewhere, Stassin could still have a route across the Channel in the shape of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Interestingly, while the message coming out of the London Stadium all summer has been that West Ham cannot buy until they sell, a club source informed Hammers News this week that ‘anything is possible’.
Hardly the sort of statement which gets hairs standing up on end. But, tellingly, a slight thawing of the previous, more conservative response.
Described as ‘a mix’ of a number ten and a number nine, the versatile, stylish Lucas Stassin was picked alongside Lamine Yamal and Desire Doue in Rising Stars’ Under-21 Team of the Season this month.
The West Ham supporters like what they see, too, from a youngster who produced 17 goals and assists in just 23 Ligue 1 starts for a relegated St Etienne outfit.