West Ham United fans should not expect to see Newcastle talisman Alexander Isak wearing claret and blue before the window closes, Graham Potter quipped during his pre-Chelsea press conference on Thursday.
No one at the London Stadium needed informing of that, of course. If Liverpool cannot get a deal done for a wantaway striker valued at around £150 million, then Niclas Fullkrug need not lose any sleep.
West Ham United are restricted to ‘a certain market’, Potter accepts. But, as demonstrated throughout a difficult summer, even bringing in players belonging to that so-called ‘market’ is easier said than done.
Mateus Fernandes possesses barely a fraction of Alexander Isak’s star-power, but the Southampton playmaker remains the ‘ultimate midfielder’ West Ham need. Possessing the ball-carrying dynamism and the box-to-box intensity so badly lacking among Potter’s current options.
But, after Chelsea rebuffed an ambitious approach for Andrey Santos last week, West Ham remain way off Southampton’s asking price too.
Just to complete a triumvirate of transfer frustrations, The Guardian reports that a bid for Barcelona youngster Marc Casado was also ‘unsuccessful’.
Alexander Isak scores during Newcastle United FC v Ipswich Town FC - Premier League
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Graham Potter makes Alexander Isak quip as West Ham United’s transfer struggles go on
So, what next for West Ham and Graham Potter?
After Southampton rejected bids worth £30 million and then £32 million for Mateus Fernandes, after Chelsea reportedly batted away an Andrey Santos proposal worth £45 million, and with Barcelona in no rush to green-light the sale of Spain international Casado, Potter heads into Friday night’s London derby facing the challenge of picking two from Guido Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse, Andy Irving, Freddie Potts or the exit-linked Edson Alvarez
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“I think the profile [of transfer target] is one that we think about privately to be honest,” Potter says, speaking after West Ham saw bids for three midfield targets snubbed in the space of a few days. “I think that helps us in the market.
“We have to try to find the right players always. It’s about the right player, the right profile, the right person, always.
“That isn’t easy to do, especially when you’ve got restrictions because of PSR. It’s not like we can go for Isak! We have a certain market and that’s fine. Our job is to try and find players that can improve us externally and, at the same time, help the players we have here.
“Clearly, we have to do that and that’s where my focus is on. I see that the squad has had investment over a number of years, and we have to get more out of the squad. We will also look to improve, we will do that collectively as a club, and try and find the best solution.”
Graham Potter watches on during Brighton and Hove Albion FC v West Ham United FC - Premier League
Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
Mateus Fernandes, Andrey Santos and Marc Casado all received Hammers offers
West Ham have already seen Mateus Fernandes in action. He was arguably Southampton’s stand-out performer during April’s 1-1 draw at the London Stadium, the driving force behind so many of the visitors’ most threatening forays.
Andrey Santos, in contrast, has barely kicked a ball in anger since joining Chelsea from Vasco da Gama in 2023. The twice-capped Brazilian did score an impressive 11 goals on loan at Strasbourg last season, however.
As for a certain La Masia graduate, the ‘amazing’ Marc Casado was labelled Sergio Busquets’ heir at Barcelona.
Potter, though, is keen to point out that simply throwing money at a problem is sometimes not enough to fix it. Getting more out of an admittedly-limited bunch is also a must.
“It’s great [to be quizzed on transfers],” Potter replied, his words overflowing with sarcasm.
“Especially when you’ve had a bad result, everyone thinks the silver bullet is going to come from outside and save us all. It doesn’t work like that.
“It is about being a club, about being together, accepting the criticism that comes with a bad result, to get on, do your work and take the responsibility.”