It was still early in the transfer window, but it appeared that Mohammed Kudus might end up signing for Chelsea. They had presented Ajax with an offer, and they had reached a personal agreement with the Ghana international, who is 23 years old. Playing professionally in England was one of Kudus’s lifelong ambitions. However, progress was not made.
The transfer of Ecuadorian international midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion to Chelsea was eventually completed for a British record cost of £115million ($146m). Chelsea wished to give priority to the signing of Caicedo, who was formerly playing for Brighton & Hove Albion. More than two weeks passed while Kudus waited for a response from Chelsea, who had been told by Ajax that they required further time to locate a suitable successor. The Dutch side initially suggested a deadline of August 18, but it was ultimately pushed back.
During that same period, a Saudi Arabian club that shall remain nameless entered the competition; however, discussions never progressed to a more advanced stage. After that, Brighton and Ajax came to an arrangement in principle, but they were unable to come to an agreement over personal terms. Arsenal and Manchester United have also been mentioned in connection with a possible transfer for the versatile Kudus.
Ajax and the representatives of Kudus eventually became unhappy with the situation, and they shifted their attention to approving his transfer to West Ham, which had shown interest in signing him on 6 August. They were aware that Chelsea were the favourites, but they were certain that West Ham’s technical director, Tim Steidten, would make an impression on Kudus during discussions.
Kudus’ arrival at the London Stadium-
Steidten travelled to Bulgaria to witness Kudus score a hat-trick in the first leg of Ajax’s Europa League qualifying play-off tie against Ludogorets. This occurred prior to the completion of the £38.2million transfer, which was the amount that West Ham’s third offer was for. On August 26, Kudus and Steidten took a private jet from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam to Stansted Airport, which is about an hour’s drive north of London. They arrived at Stansted Airport around ten in the morning. After that, Kudus travelled to the training ground of West Ham to finish up his medical examination.
Kudus brought up the topic of Lucas Paqueta’s future with Steidten while they were in the middle of the discussions. The agreement to bring in the Brazil international to Manchester City, who had an offer of £70 million rejected down by West Ham, was on the verge of happening, but it was called off because the midfielder is being investigated by the Football Association for alleged betting offences. West Ham had an offer of £70 million turned down by Manchester City.
Steidten assured Kudus that he and Paqueta would be able to play together at West Ham and that he would not get less playing time if he joined as a result of the South American’s decision to remain at the club. Kudus was concerned that if he signed, he would not be able to play with Paqueta. Steidten provided Kudus this promise. Kudus came to the conclusion that it would be in his best interest to sign a deal that would keep him with the club for the next five years and pay him a salary that was far higher than the one he was getting at Ajax.
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Alvarez joined West Ham-
When the transfer window opened in early August, the team made their first purchase with Alvarez. Before his arrival, there was anger among supporters due to a lack of incomings following Declan Rice’s July transfer to Arsenal for a fee of £105 million. The transfer occurred.
There were worries that the club could be involved in another relegation if additions were not made, but the arrivals of Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Konstantinos Mavropanos, and now Kudus for a combined total of £118million have revived the spirits of the fans and management. According to Moyes, “it felt strange that we were getting any form of criticism,” and he added this.
On the pitch, the beginning of the season has gotten off to a fantastically promising start, with 10 points out of a possible 12 and West Ham sitting atop the Premier League table after their 2-1 success away at Luton on Friday. This is a result of West Ham’s 10 points out of a possible 12 and the fact that they are in first place. Despite the fact that they are still in the very beginning parts of the season, this has already happened.
Alvarez played in his first professional game when our team travelled to face Brighton & Hove Albion and came away with a 3-1 victory. The Mexico international, who is 25 years old and has 68 caps for his country, was purchased from Ajax for about £34.4 million and signed a five-year deal. West Ham had Alvarez on their radar for a few seasons before to making a play for him, but they did not pursue a trade for him because they already had Rice and Tomas Soucek. Instead, West Ham made a move for him.
Moyes’ scouts would frequently make the trip to watch Alvarez play, and the report they provided was uniformly favourable. After Rice was ultimately moved on, the recruitment department of the club started looking at other midfielders who had the potential to play the No. 6 position. In addition to Alvarez, some of the other players on their list were Joao Palhinha of Fulham, Scott McTominay of Manchester United, Conor Gallagher, a midfielder for Chelsea, and Sofyan Amrabat, who plays for Fiorentina.
Related Article- What can West Ham United expect of Edson Alvarez? Explained
James Ward Prowse and his special set-pieces-
In addition to this, Ward-Prowse has successfully integrated his new surroundings. The England international midfielder has played in his first two games for the club and has one goal scored against him and two assists to his credit. In addition to that, he is credited with two assists. During the summer of 2018, when the recruitment staff was discussing the possibility of making additions to the team, he was by far the most popular selection. The player, who is now 28 years old and was Southampton’s captain when they were relegated the year before, ended up signing a contract with the club that is good for four years and will pay a total of £30 million over that time period.
Moyes gave serious consideration to a number of players for the center-back position on his team, including Kurt Zouma, Thilo Kehrer, Nayef Aguerd, and Angelo Ogbonna, among others. Moyes was very interested in strengthening the defensive capabilities of his club. His top choice for a player to acquire was Harry Maguire, a former captain of England who is currently playing for Manchester United. West Ham had an offer of £30 million approved for him, but negotiations broke down despite late attempts to revive the transfer by providing an initial loan with an option to buy. Maguire is currently playing for Manchester United.
Related Article- What makes James Ward Prowse so special for the Hammers?
Mavropanos-
It is possible that West Ham’s most important signing will turn out to be Steidten’s entry in the role of technical director at the age of 44.
He is in charge of West Ham’s player recruitment strategy and has collaborated extensively with Mark Noble, the club’s former captain who was promoted to the position of sporting director in September of last year. The notion that Moyes and Steidten were having difficulty working together was reportedly circulating early in the window; however, the manager downplayed the significance of those rumours.
In addition to having interest in the defender Ronnie Edwards, who plays for League One team Peterborough United, West Ham attempted to close a deal for Juventus wing-back Filip Kostic but were unsuccessful. The player, who is now 20 years old, was a member of the England Under-19 team that triumphed at the European Championship for their age group the previous summer, and he also competed for England Under-20 at their World Cup this year.
Related Article– West Ham’s New Signing, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Is All Set For The Premier League
Nicola Vlasic has been a phenomenal player-
In addition to Rice, there were a number other notable exits during the course of this summer.
Manuel Lanzini was given his freedom in June after seven years with the club, and he has since returned to River Plate in Argentina. Meanwhile, Flynn Downes, who saw limited action during the previous season, went on a season-long loan to Southampton, who plays in the Premier League.
After an unimpressive stint in London, Nikola Vlasic has made a move to the Italian side Torino, where he spent last season on loan. The Croatian international had cost £25.7 million when he signed from CSKA Moscow in the summer of 2021. Vlasic’s transfer to Torino for £11 million is a significant discount from his original price tag.
Scammaca’s departure-
Gianluca Scamacca, who was purchased from the Italian club Sassuolo for the transfer cost of £30.5 million last summer, has had a difficult season. As a result of a combination of injuries and a general lack of form, the forward, who is 24 years old and has only made 16 total appearances, he was only able to score three goals in the Premier League. Atalanta, another club from the Serie A, outbid Inter Milan for his services and ultimately paid £21.5 million to recruit him last month.
After Scamacca had left the club, West Ham made an offer to recruit Elye Wahi, but he ultimately signed with Lens instead of another French team, Montpellier, for a fee of thirty million pounds. Moyes and his recruitment team made inquiries regarding the availability of both PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko and Cole Palmer, who recently made a move from Manchester City to Chelsea for a fee of forty million pounds. Another City player, Carlos Borges, was expected to sign with West Ham United, but Ajax made a late offer, and he ultimately decided to sign with the Amsterdam club instead.
West Ham rekindled their interest in Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri, a player for whom they made a bid of £27 million in January of 2021 but were unable in acquiring his services. Hugo Ekitike, who plays for the French champions Paris Saint-Germain, and Gift Orban, who plays for Gent in Belgium, have been mentioned in connection with possible transfers to the London Stadium. Another player from Ligue 1 who was under consideration, Habib Diallo of Strasbourg, ultimately signed with the Saudi club Al Shabab.
The search for a striker may not have been successful, but the signings that West Ham did make have excited players, supporters, and Moyes alike. They are now responsible for preserving the upbeat attitude that has been established.
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