West Ham thought they could take advantage of an awkward Chelsea situation but the Blues are one step ahead to seal a deal which wrecks Graham Potter’s transfer plan.
West Ham have a former Chelsea boss and ex Blues recruitment guru heading up their rebuild in the shape of Graham Potter and Kyle Macaulay.
So it was inevitable there would be some transfer clashes between the Hammers and Chelsea.
West Ham’s board have revealed their plans in a transfer update ahead of the window opening on Sunday, June 1.
Hammers have inside track on Chelsea targets
The Hammers had already made it clear the midfield and forward line are priorities for Potter and Macaulay’s overhaul.
West Ham have stated they must be ‘very clever’ in the summer window due to PSR restrictions.
Competing with Chelsea in the transfer market is difficult at the best of times, let alone when financial fair play rules are proving prohibitive.
The Hammers paid Chelsea £1.2m to reunite Macaulay with Potter in January.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
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The Scottish talent spotter arrived armed with a dossier of targets.
And West Ham allegedly believed they could beat Chelsea to one of them thanks to a very awkward situation that was unfolding.
Towering 6ft 5in Strasbourg striker Emanuel Emegha was on West Ham’s radar in the January window.
His name came out of nowhere the moment Macaulay swapped west for east London.
Chelsea one step ahead of West Ham as clever deal sealed
West Ham are in need of at least one new forward this summer, if not two.
A rangy, powerful and pacy striker, Emegha has all the attributes West Ham are crying out for up front.
Emegha netted 14 goals and laid on three assists in 27 appearances for Strasbourg this season.
The problem for West Ham was that Emegha’s club are owned by BlueCo, a consortium led by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
That had put Chelsea in the box seat until a recent revelation gave the Hammers hope.
Photo by ARNAUD FINISTRE/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by ARNAUD FINISTRE/AFP via Getty Images
It looked like the Hammers would get a major leg up over their London rivals for Emegha.
Because UEFA threatened to block Chelsea from signing any Strasbourg players this summer.
The scenario of both Chelsea and Strasbourg being in the same European competition did not play out in the end.
But West Ham would still have been confident of potentially landing Dutchman Emegha with the lure of being a guaranteed starter.
However, Chelsea are one step ahead of West Ham as a clever deal is sealed to wreck Potter’s transfer plan.
Blues wreck Potter’s Emegha plan with interestingly structured deal
If Emegha really was Potter and Macaulay’s prime Hammers striker target – then that idea is in tatters.
Because Chelsea are on the verge of getting him signed up to an interestingly structured long-term contract according to reports from Holland and France.
According to Dutch outlet VI, it is now a ‘matter of time’ before Chelsea make Emegha their latest capture on a six-year contract until 2031.
Even more galling for the Hammers is that the intention is for Emegha to stay with Strasbourg for another year before the striker joins Chelsea.
Foot Mercato doubled down on the claims, adding further salt to West Ham’s wounds by revealing that Chelsea were not seriously considering signing Emegha until a couple of weeks ago.
Yet now they report the Blues have leapfrogged West Ham and others and are ‘closer than ever’ to striking the deal.
That means it is back to the drawing board for West Ham.
And with rival clubs already acting quickly in the market, the Hammers will need to hope Macaulay has some viable alternatives up his sleeve.
West Ham have also been linked with Yuri Alberto, Evan Guessand and emerging German talents.