Things are seemingly going from bad to worse for David Moyes at West Ham.
Not only has the Scot not been able to sign any players during the current transfer window, but more than one appears to want to leave the east London outfit.
It hints at things not being too great behind the scenes, and this may partly be to do with the employment of Tim Steidten as the club’s new technical director.
Coming in above Moyes was always likely to rattle a few cages and it’s unclear just how good or bad the relationship is at present, though one can infer by the lack of transfer activity that it’s unlikely to be great.
One player who has made his own position crystal clear is out of favour star, Nicola Vlasic.
Serie A side, Torino, are believed to want to buy the 25-year-old Croatian, however, Vlasic believes that the Hammers aren’t even entertaining the prospect of a negotiation for his services.
‘I’m fed up with this dead-end situation. We all know, you first, that I’m not considered an important player here, I’m just one of many in the reserve group,” he said to TuttoSport (subscription required).
“I returned to London respecting the call-up with great fairness and I am training every day with the utmost professionalism, but this cannot be the solution.
“I’ve been telling you for two months that I want to play for Turin, that I no longer want to stay at West Ham under these conditions, on the sidelines.
“And also, that my own family never wants to go back to live in England. And also, that I’m not interested in evaluating other market hypotheses, if ever there were.’
‘Your behaviour is incomprehensible. I know that Torino has already offered you €9m for a long time, an important figure, respectful of my value and your needs.
“But you don’t intend to negotiate with Torino, you repeat that it’s not enough, but you still don’t communicate to the Italian club what the right figure is, in your opinion. I’m worried: I will continue training with great seriousness, but it cannot go on like this.”
It’s quite the outburst and hardly likely to do him any favours.
From West Ham’s own perspective, they can’t really countenance having players in the dressing room that are likely to upset the equilibrium.
If a deal can be reached quickly, that’s surely the best for all parties.