West Ham United manager David Moyes has revealed that the former Netherlands international Johnny Heitinga helped the Hammers seal the signings of Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus.
Moyes reportedly got in touch with Heitinga regarding a move for the former Ajax duo and the new assistant coach played a key role in their arrival.
“I met Johnny in the summer a couple of times before I brought him in,” Moyes said. “I’d had some meetings with him but I was also asking him about the Ajax players and what might be there.
“I didn’t know I was going to end up getting them because they were two lads on our list of recruitment. We were keen on getting Joao Palhinha from Fulham and we didn’t get him. We were obviously looking to see who we could try and get after that. James Ward-Prowse was high on my list no matter what.
“But I was able to talk to Johnny about Edson and then Mo when he started to become a consideration. Steven Pienaar has been at Ajax as well and he was one of my ex-players [at Everton] so I phoned him about them too.”
The Hammers spent combined a total of more than £70 million for the two players and they will be hoping that the likes of Alvarez and Kudus could turn into major successes at the London club.
Alvarez has already established himself as a key player for West Ham and he has filled the void left by former captain Declan Rice. While Kudus has mostly been restricted to cup games, the Ghana international is expected to make his mark in the Premier League soon.
Both players were excellent for Ajax and they will look to showcase their qualities in the Premier League as well.