West Ham attempting to structure a deal to bring this twenty two year old strike from Strasbourg to London Stadium was always going to be frought with difficulty. The brilliant forward Emanuel Emegha was high on the Hammers’ Wishlist and in theory at least available at an attainable price.
The problem has always been the elephant in the room: Strasbourg and Chelsea are both owned by BlueCo and as soon as it was heard that Chelsea were interested in Emegha then West Ham’s chances dipped to virtually zero. In an echo of the winter’s failed attempt to bring young talent Eli Junior Kroupi to West Ham only to be pipped at a lower price by Bournemouth, the Hammers are likely to lose their target again, according toDutch site vi.nl:
“Strasbourg and Chelsea are the same owner and so it makes sense that Chelsea looks at the neighbors in search of reinforcement. The club of owner Todd Boehly wants to pick up Emegha from Strasbourg and is currently working on it.
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Chelsea has offered Emegha a six-year contract, until 2031. The intention is that he will stay in France for another year and then go for his chances at Chelsea. An agreement is a matter of time.”
Another one bites the dust. West Ham face huge challenges without European Football and with a minuscule transfer budget: Bringing in top talent is hard enough but with the modern-day phenomenon of clubs sharing ownership, chasing players who might be moved across clubs owned by the same company is a mission doomed to failure.