West Ham Online

May as well get going with this since with Sullivan at the helm, season ticket renewals slow, and the football vacuum to commence, this will soon be all the "news" there is.

Can Potter and MacCauley pull multiple rabbits out of the hat, or will Sullivan 'try really hard' with all of them before grabbing a few aging bargains from Big Willie Salthouse?

Window this close season comes in two parts:

Part 1: 1st June to 10th June
Part 2: 16th June to 1st September

Rumoured Outs...most of the squad

Let the "Rumoured In's" commence. 

------------------------------------------------------------

Player | Position | Club | Fee (GBP)

Rumoured In

1. Daniel Cummings | ST | Celtic
2. Koni De Winter | CB | Genoa
3. Morten Frendrup | DM | Genoa
4. Richard Kone | ST | Wycombe
5. Aaron Ramsdale | GK | Southampton
6. Caiomin Kelleher | GK | Liverpool
7. James Trafford | GK | Burnley
8. Kyle Walker-Peters | FB | Free Agent
9. Taylor Harwood-Bellis | CB | Southampton
10. CJ Egan-Riley | CB | Free Agent
11. Josh Brownhill | CM | Free Agent
12. Albian Hajdari | CB | Lugano
13. Lucas Høgsberg | CB | FC Nordsjælland
14. Ardon Jashari | CM | Brugge
15. Raphael Onyedika | CM | Brugge
16. James McAtee | AM | Man City
17. Mario Struykens | AM | Anderlecht
18. Mathias Kvistgaarden | ST | Brondby
19. Clement Bischoff | LB | Brondby
20. Mika Biereth | FW | Monaco
21. Barış Alper Yılmaz | AM | Galatasaray
22. Evann Guessand | ST | Nice
23. Lucas Stassin | ST | Saint Etienne
24. Marcus Taverner | FW | Bournemouth
25. Soungoutoo Magassa | CDM | Monaco
26. Valentin Atangana | CM | Stade Reims
27. Mads Hermansen | GK | Leicester City
28. Hamza Igamane | ST | Rangers
29. Yeremay | FW | Deportivo La Coruna
30. Adama Bojang | ST | Reims
31. Rocco Reitz | MF | Borussia Moenchengladbach
32. Dominic Calvert-Lewin | ST | Free Agent
33. El Hadji Malick Diouf | LB | SK Slavia Prague
34. Oscar Mingueza | RB/MF | Celta Vigo
35. Tyler Morton | CM | Liverpool
36. Harvey Elliott | AM | Liverpool
37. Zion Suzuki | GK | Parma
38. John Victor | GK | Botofogo 
39. Jacob Ramsey | MF | Villa
40. Mateus Fernandes | CM | Southampton
41. Nga Makou | CM | Lille
42. Quinten Timber | CM
43. Hayden Hackney | CM | Boro
44. Yves Bissouma | CM | Spurs

Rumoured Out

1. Nayef Aguerd | CB | Leverkusen, Marseile
2. Maxel Cornet | FW | Genoa/Others
3. Guido Rodriguez | DM | Betis/Espanyol
4. Tomas Soucek | CM | Everton
5. Michail Antonio | ST | Free Agent
6. Mo Kudus | FW | Chelsea/Newcastle/Arsenal
7. Lucas Paqueta | AM | Man City
8. Andy Irving | CM | Celtic/Wrexham
9. Emerson | LB | Marseille

Confirmed In

1. Jean Clair Todibo | CB | Loan To Perm (32m)
2. Daniel Cummings | ST | Celtic (Free Agent...Tribunal)
3. El Hadji Malick Diouf | LWB | Slavia Prahia | 20m
4. Kyle Walker-Peters | RWB | Free Agent
5. C****m Wilson | ST | Free Agent
6. Mads Hermansen | GK | Leicester (18m)
7. Mateus Fernandes | CM | Southampton (38m + 4m)
8. Soungoutoo Magassa | CDM | Monaco (17m)
9. Igor Julio | CB | Brighton (Loan)

Confirmed Out

1. Aaron Cresswell | LB | Free Agent | 0m
2. Danny Ings | ST | Free Agent | 0m
3. Vladimir Coufal | RB | Free Agent | 0m
4. Lukusz Fabianski | GK | Free Agent | 0m
5. Kamari Swyer | AM | Free Agent | 0m
6. Kurt Zouma | CB | Free Agent | 0m
7. Carlos Soler | CM | PSG | End of Loan
8. Evan Ferguson | ST | Brighton | End of Loan
9. Brad Dolaghan | Released
10. Dondre Abraham | Released
11. Mehmet Halim | Released
12. Muhammed Judus |stroppy| sp*rs| £55m
13. Michail Antonio | Released
14. Kieran Casey | Swansea | Loan
15. Edson Alvarez | Fenerbache | Loan with Option
16. Emerson | Marseille | £1m
17. Aguerd | Marseille | £20m
18. Max Cornet | Genoa | Loan

goose wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025, 08:39 The #17 of Lille yesterday would transform our midfield.

Yeah Goose, his energy, running into space, ability to carry the ball forward. Very impressive.  Oh to have a player like that. Been a while since Rice left…. Tik tok

The #17 of Lille yesterday would transform our midfield.

Its rare all fans, and even some pundits agree on sonething so surely the club will again not miss the chance to address a problem that imo has been a problem for the last 10-15 years with the exception of the “Rice Years”.  We never have had a player with pace, an engine in central midfield. The last battler who covered the pitch before Rice might have been Behrami although he was always injured? But he played in an wra when the intensity and speed of the game was lower.  

The fact it was Rice who arguably was an unintended accident, a CB who was converted to play in central midfield, suggests we have never ever tried to recruit that type of player.

Based on yesterday and the first 60 mins of the Bournemouth game , you could easily make the case for replacing all 3 of those centre mids?  That said, having one of them who is not so athletic is not such a problem if the other two are.  If Paqueta plays as he did yesterday, he should make way along with the obvious problem of JWP.  Potts is young and adjustimg to a step up in intensity but shows enough promise and passing accuracy, work rate if teamed with the aforementioned profile of players. Paqueta should be better if teamed with a no 8 who can carry the ball, provide movement, speed and power etc

As a 3 collectively though, we have what 7 or 8 choices for the central midfield and its impossible to come up with 3 that can meet the physical demands of the Premier Lge and the high possession requirements of Potterball.   That is an indictment of a decade ir more of poor recruitment in this area ( well many areas actually ).  Kovac epitomises the poor recruitment at its worse. 

3 weeks to get in 2 for this area and imo get rid of Guido, JWP, Irvine. Possibly one or more of Soucek, Alvarez and Paqueta will also need to be sacrificed?  Sullivan must be prepared to take a loss on many of them though and thats arguably our biggest problem? 

But then there is the love affair Potter has with JWP? First season in a Moyes set up he was a decent contributor but his assists since then? And set pieces or goals from them have dried up?  Non progressive, ball rotation is not enough and yesterday we saw he struggles physically. Too slow, lightweight.  

 

Fernandes was Southampton POTY last season, I know they were shit, but bit harsh to say he didn't perform. 21 years old and being the best player at the club in the Prem, by a distance is a good effort. Their fans rave about him.

You've said we shouldn't be buying top half of Champ / lower half of Prem standard players, then said Hackney is the one we should be getting, a lad who's never played in the Prem.

Work that one out!

 

southbankbornnbred wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 19:12

Ron Eff" wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 19:00 I don’t think that’s right about Fernandes, I have to say. I think the ceiling is very high. 

Admittedly I haven’t seen LOADS of him but what I have a like. Decent pace, not rapid but absolutely not sluggish, very tenacious, tracks and tackles well, good passer and good feet. He seems to be an out and out centre midfielder who does a bit of everything. He’s also 21. 

I think it’s exactly the pond we should be fishing in. Sure, the top 6 aren’t looking at him, but we have to remember we finished marginally above relegation last season! He’s the sort of player they want to see prove themselves into their 20’s. We should be snapping these players up while they’re gettable as long as the price is right they weigh up risk vs reward. If he fulfils potential we either have a top player or make good profit. 

What’s the alternative? £40m for a 28 year who has reached the ceiling and the trajectory can only be down?




 

I’m happy to be wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time at all! But I watched Southampton quite a bit last season (had this very conversation with Eerie about KWP) and Fernandes did not stand out at all. Admittedly, he was in a very poor side and confidence was low. People kept talking about his promise - but he never delivered against it.

He’s 21, as you say. He should get better. I’m just not convinced by his supposed “ceiling”. 

This window can easily be considered a fiasco if there isn't a late transfer to make sure we doesn't have to rely on today's midfield.

Ain't ManU also interested in Fernandes. (Maybe a Portuguese thing.?) Still think the club is hoping no one comes in for Douglas Luiz. And they can low ball Juve in the last couple of days of the window. One thing for sure. We need bodies in there that can move.

Ron Eff" wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 19:00 I don’t think that’s right about Fernandes, I have to say. I think the ceiling is very high. 

Admittedly I haven’t seen LOADS of him but what I have a like. Decent pace, not rapid but absolutely not sluggish, very tenacious, tracks and tackles well, good passer and good feet. He seems to be an out and out centre midfielder who does a bit of everything. He’s also 21. 

I think it’s exactly the pond we should be fishing in. Sure, the top 6 aren’t looking at him, but we have to remember we finished marginally above relegation last season! He’s the sort of player they want to see prove themselves into their 20’s. We should be snapping these players up while they’re gettable as long as the price is right they weigh up risk vs reward. If he fulfils potential we either have a top player or make good profit. 

What’s the alternative? £40m for a 28 year who has reached the ceiling and the trajectory can only be down?



 

I don’t think that’s right about Fernandes, I have to say. I think the ceiling is very high. 

Admittedly I haven’t seen LOADS of him but what I have a like. Decent pace, not rapid but absolutely not sluggish, very tenacious, tracks and tackles well, good passer and good feet. He seems to be an out and out centre midfielder who does a bit of everything. He’s also 21. 

I think it’s exactly the pond we should be fishing in. Sure, the top 6 aren’t looking at him, but we have to remember we finished marginally above relegation last season! He’s the sort of player they want to see prove themselves into their 20’s. We should be snapping these players up while they’re gettable as long as the price is right they weigh up risk vs reward. If he fulfils potential we either have a top player or make good profit. 

What’s the alternative? £40m for a 28 year who has reached the ceiling and the trajectory can only be down?

 

After today, the need for legs and pace in central midfield is all the more pressing.

We simply can’t have Rodriguez, Soucek or JWP in a midfield that doesn’t have somebody much quicker to the ball/tackle alongside them.

Even 20 mins was enough to remind everybody that Rodriguez is just an awful player in English conditions. He needs too much time on the ball and space. The premier league is not for him. Absolute waste of space  and incredible to think he’s a World Cup winner (played one game, of course!). When he plays, we have ten men.

Desperately need to shake things up in central midfield. There’s no bite, no pressing and no control.

Again, I look at Fernandes and wonder who else he’s linked with. And, again, it’s teams likely to finish in the bottom third of the table next season: Leeds, Wolves etc.

Personally,, I think we’re fishing in the wrong pond too often. If you keep buying players whose likely ceiling is bottom half of on the Prem and top half of the Championship, where do you think you’ll end up? This is what Roeder did.

Maybe I’m wrong - only saw Fernandes a few times last season and he’s only 21, so likely to get better. But he didn’t stand out in any game I saw. It just feels like more overhyped and expensive squad fodder that other clubs of our size/revenues are not chasing.

Genuinely, I’d like to know from Potter what he sees in this kid that you can’t get from Hackney, other potential signings, or some of the youth team players already at our disposal.

Looks like Villa want Hayden Hackney to replace McGinn if he goes. Don’t give them the option.

Lot of noise around Fernandes at Southampton. Mostly from agents. Barely laid a glove on decent Premier League sides last season. Skilful, but lightweight. Not YET convinced. They were an awful team, yet we’ve constantly been linked with many of their players (and signed one).

There are more effective options out there, IMHO.

if Hayden Hackney at Boro was French or Spanish, a Premier League side would have paid £25m for him by now. You could probably land him for £18m, and he’s tireless in midfield: He’d be a good foil for Paqueta and a more defensive midfielder in a three.

fraser wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 14:28

onsideman wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 13:15

El Scorchio" wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 12:52 Fernendes only on the bench for Saints. On the move? (Assume it’s not fitness related)

The evil empire Wrexham just gone one up. Quite a big game for Still as his first in charge

 

Apparently Fernandes missed the final friendly due to illness so I think it possibly is fitness related, but fingers crossed

The keeper plus him and the Senegalese striker (who i admit I know little about) would be decent I think

Or maybe it was a convenient illness... 

onsideman wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 13:15

El Scorchio" wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 12:52 Fernendes only on the bench for Saints. On the move? (Assume it’s not fitness related)

The evil empire Wrexham just gone one up. Quite a big game for Still as his first in charge

 

Apparently Fernandes missed the final friendly due to illness so I think it possibly is fitness related, but fingers crossed

The keeper plus him and the Senegalese striker (who i admit I know little about) would be decent I think

El Scorchio" wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025, 12:52 Fernendes only on the bench for Saints. On the move? (Assume it’s not fitness related)

The evil empire Wrexham just gone one up. Quite a big game for Still as his first in charge

 

JWP & Rodriguez are hard to shift but any small fee involved would have to be paid to them to top up the wages they would be giving up as NOONE is paying them our salary
Soucek is the only saleable asset and with the interest from Everton & Leeds I’d be looking for £15m to &20m

Id quite like a Fernandes (Southampton) or El Khannous (Leicester) but understand the former wants to go to Europe
Ramsey of Villa isn’t interested so that should have been binned ages ago. Don’t think we can afford him or Elliot anyway
More pressing is a physical worker to replace Soucek with someone with pace & energy
What happened to that Ondeyika & others we supposedly looked at ages ago?

Yes. Not being able to offload anyone is killing us softly both in terms of squad and wage bill. I’d like to say let’s hope it’s a massive wake up call or slap to the face of Sullivan and his short sighted transfer policy but you know he’ll plough on belligerently and carry on passing the buck to anyone he can. 

very pleased with the two (assuming Hermansen is in) athat Macauley and Potter have brought in. Both young and either should be good performers for us AND have handsome resale value IF we were to sell them. 

To be fair KWP isn’t terrible value or a millstone but Wilson, fucking Sullivan classic. Only blessing is its not a three year deal. 

Sir Alf - I agree with almost all of that.

A major concern for me is that we've still got a lot of dead wood hanging around and the lack of outgoings is a real problem, putting the kybosh on our ability to strengthen the midfield. I suppose that it's always going to be harder to shift players off the back of a poor season when very few of them have shone.

It also looks like we may have a few players who will be content to do an Ings and sit on their fat contracts rather than agree to take a pay-cut in order to get a move. I suppose it's tempting when you know that your career is past its peak and you're not relishing the prospect of playing in the Chumpionship or Turkey. Cornet is the obvious one but it could also apply to Rodriguez and even Emerson. 

If you think that in midfield we've got Paquetà, Alvarez, Soucek, JWP, Rodriguez, Irving, Potts, Earthy, Fearon and Orford - 10 players competing for 3 places - it's just insane. The last two in the list should probably go out on loan but what about some of the others who are barely going to get a look-in? Some kind of bargain bin?

Fernendes only on the bench for Saints. On the move? (Assume it’s not fitness related)

The evil empire Wrexham just gone one up. Quite a big game for Still as his first in charge

I think I prefer reading ladyboys posts than wading through a Sir Alf post

As always a long “war and peace” post so apologies. But I know and appreciate how tolerant and patient we all are on this site ( ag, ag ) and besides it wouldnt be Sir Alf without using 50 words when one will do,  so here goes : 

Critical 3 weeks now in the xfer window imho and even the majority of fans seem to agree?. Central midfield athleticism, “legs”, pace and ability to both turn and carry the ball forward along with speed and power to press and track back / cover when we lose possession.   

It is the overwhelming priority and always was and not addressing it adequately will undermine everything Potter is trying to do especially tactically. It has been the gaping chasm we have had since Rice left.  I think we actually need 2 players with these attributes one more defensive minded and one with the ability to break forward and allow us to beat the opposition press.  But I’m hoping either or both Alvarez and Potts can adequately fill the more defensive role.  Neither are blessed with blistering pace but can compensate with quick passing and thinking in Potts case and physical ability to protect the ball in Alvarez’s case.  We shall see because it sounds highly unlikely we will be bringing in two players. 

The harsh reality although, again just my opinion ( but not controversial I suspect? ), is that JWP, Guido, Irvine and Soucek should never be regular starters and Guido and Irvine should be moved on to get regular starts elsewhere.

Soucek is the one to keep as the plan B if we need to switch to going more direct in games and while IMO he should never start too often , he could be very effective coming on after 60 mins etc. This all hinges on the ability to contribute with goals. If they ever dry up completely he becomes largely redundant. 

I think our frustration with Potter this season is going to be with his insistence on starting JWP in most games. Well initially anyway. Hopefully it doesnt cost us too many points.  He’s too slow and lightweight for the Premier League imo. And now unable to provide much by way of goals and chances from from set pieces, like Soucek you have to question what he provides?

Anyway we also now we have to hope Sullivan continues to support Potter and does not insist on selling one of the above at unrealistic fees ( we will likely have to loan them out or get a paltry fee imo).  The noises from his media stooges seem to be sayimg that.  This also extends to Emerson and of course Cornet.    In terms of the squad size, we have let Zouma, Ings, Fab, Cresswell, Soler and Antonio go and have brought in Diouf, KWP, Wilson, Mads H along with Potts, Marshall and Earthy. So wages are not the issue its just squad places surely?.  A net increase of one. But we have 4 at least waiting to go in Irvine, Emerson, Cornet and Guido. Ideally  we would be prepared to release JWP if a bid comes in but suspect that wont happen as he has become to Potter what Soucek was to Moyes?

The real concern is us leaving it too late waiting to get the central midfielder in. We dont move that quick ( understatement) on any transfer and leaving it to the last week could be a disaster if it means we miss out. Fernandes sounds like the one we want but supposedly 10 other clubs interested and ge wants to go abroad?  Hopefully Macaulay and Potter have someone identified but dont be surprised if Sullivan and Salthouse bring in Josh Brownhill ( slow /old) 

Cheeky punt for Isak?

Of course it will never happen (him coming here), but it ticks so many of Sullivan's boxes at once I'm surprised a low-ball isn't already in.

Who's his agent?