Callum Wilson. A player who has haunted and taunted us throughout his career. Like Kevin Davies, Leon Osman, Romelu Lukaku before him.
It almost seemed inevitable he’d end up being a thorn in our side. Indeed, in 16 games playing against us, he notched 12 goals. A stat that would be far more damaging, had he not drawn a blank on the last three outings.
Off the field, his podcast with pal, Michail Antonio, has seen a few digs aimed in West Ham's direction. Though he says it’s against his buddy rather than the club, football fans have long memories, passionate views and an inane ability to hold a grudge when it suits them.
At 33 years old, and with a horrific injury record, he is not the signing we wanted. When fit, he’s clearly a player of pedigree, but we all wanted a powerful, young, hungry striker to bolster the squad.
Despite a swathe of failed attempts, it hasn’t stopped the board trying. But here we are. The prospect of starting a season with a strike force that is more suited to the revamped Masters Football tournament and dial-a-ride, than to the explosive pace and relentless nature of top flight football.
It appears, after years of failure, that the deal financially isn’t a further cause to induce tears and anger. A one-year contract, reportedly based on a pay-as-you-play basis, isn’t go to leave a long term fiscal weight on our shoulders.
It’s the "play" aspect that heightens concern. In the last nine seasons, 21 different injuries have led to Wilson being unavailable for 195 games. At a club with a history of being a retirement home for football's sick and lame, this seems to be a match made in heaven.
Of course this is only a stop-gap move and the bigger picture needs to be assessed. Financial stability at the club seems very precarious. Mohammed Kudus was sold and his funds covered the permanent singing of Jean-Claire Todibo and new boy El Hadji Malick Diouf.
It’s widely known that we are seeking to address other key areas - the lack of pace in central midfield for one, the increasing dissatisfaction with our goalkeeping options being another.
It was always likely that our activity in the transfer market was going to be dependent on other factors. Our inability to move on surplus-to-requirement assets has hampered the opportunity to splash out on preferred targets as yet.
It looks as if the club believe addressing the situations, deeper on the pitch, was more a concern for this window, and plugging gaps with free transfers would tide us over until next year. Not ideal, but understandable.
With Jarrod Bowen, Niclas Fullkrug and hopefully Callum Marshall as forward options, it’s believed to be sufficient, with Wilson charged with fulfilling the brief for now.
With limited funds and a board who always have a short term outlook, it was never going to be an easy first year for Graham Potter. The signing of Callum Wilson has an all-too-sobering mend-and-make-do feeling.
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