A month after their Europa Conference League title win, West Ham captain, Declan Rice, is only just finalising a move to Arsenal, and that delay has ensured that the club will miss out on one of their major summer targets.
For some reason, the Hammers had decided to wait until the Rice deal was complete before moving significantly forward with any other deals.
That speaks of a board that aren’t in keeping with the times, where a fraction of a delay can derail plans.
Waiting a whole month and still not being in a position to complete the transaction is just embarrassing, and once again goes to show why the east Londoners, try as they might, are unlikely to ever reach the levels of the likes of London rivals, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. They appear amateur in the way in which they go about business compared to their rivals.
If the player is there and willing to come, you go out and get him. There’s even less of an excuse when you know that the money will be arriving to cover the expense.
As it is, Harvey Barnes will now be signing for Newcastle according to The Telegraph (subscription required).
It’s thought that West Ham had long been the front runners for his services, but their procrastination has let the Magpies in, and they’ve swiftly put themselves in a position to get the deal done soon.
If that isn’t a big enough wake up call for the Irons, nothing will be.
Newcastle can offer players champion league West Ham will offer you Europa. The players know the expectation. Cut the cheap paper talk.