West Ham in familiar transfer strategy
If—and I do mean if—the recent comments attributed to Slavia Prague president Jaroslav Tvrdík are true, then West Ham appear to be in trouble.
To paraphrase, Tvrdík has effectively accused the Hammers of dragging their feet over the signing of 20-year-old defender El Hadji Malick Diouf.
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The root of Slavia Prague’s frustration seems to be that they’ve already agreed to sell the player to West Ham. As a result, Diouf was removed from their pre-season schedule, with the club planning for life without him. It’s believed that the player has agreed personal terms with the Irons—so this should be a straightforward deal.
But according to Tvrdík, West Ham are fully aware of the €20 million price tag and have still failed to meet it. The frustration has now reportedly reached boiling point, with Slavia preparing to reintegrate Diouf into their first-team squad.
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Unfortunately for West Ham, this isn’t new—and it’s eerily similar to the failed pursuit of Jhon Durán last season.
This window was always going to be pivotal, with Graham Potter and Kyle Macaulay tasked with identifying new talent. Presumably, it’s up to David Sullivan and/or Karren Brady to close the deals. And if we’ve already done the scouting, what’s the holdup?
Once again, the club seem to be testing the patience of the selling side—and fans have seen this move far too many times. From lowball offers to slow negotiations, rival owners have called out West Ham’s approach time and again.
In truth, I don’t know if Diouf is the next big thing—but someone at the club clearly does. He’s been identified as Emerson’s successor, so why risk missing out?
After selling Mohammed Kudus to Spurs, confidence in the board is already on thin ice. Fans are not in the mood for another slow-motion failure in the market. Diouf might not be a glamour name, but if we lose him because of another breakdown in negotiations, it won’t be easily forgiven.