‘I’d be worried if I was a West Ham fan’ – Sullivan told to pull the plug on big-name signing
West Ham United have been urged not to go ahead with a potential signing due to question marks over the player’s ability.
Graham Potter’s side have had an understated window so far, losing Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham earlier in the summer.
The Hammers have brought in some Premier League experience, adding the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Callum Wilson, and Mads Hermansen.
Now, Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling is being linked with West Ham, as well as a number of other Premier League clubs.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that this would be a bad deal for the East London side.
‘Raheem Sterling would struggle to make West Ham squad’
This article contains exclusive comment from Keith Wyness, former Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen CEO.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that West Ham fans should be worried if they sign Sterling, and it is not a transfer to get excited about.
Last season, the 30-year-old struggled to make an impact during his loan spell at Arsenal, starting just seven Premier League games.
Wyness also questioned whether Sterling would even make the West Ham squad on current form.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I’d be very worried if I was a West Ham fan thinking about Raheem Sterling. I mean, would he even make the first team squad now? He didn’t exactly set the heather on fire at Arsenal, so it’s difficult to see how he could get excited about this.
“I just don’t see it, unless he’s coming on a pay-per-play or some sort of situation like that. Certainly, his wages are way out of whack in terms of what I think he can offer West Ham. I’d be surprised. David Sullivan is a canny operator and I would have thought he’d have wanted somebody a little bit younger.
“I know that you need experience and talent, but to me, I just don’t see Raheem being that man right now. I think he’s going to have to do something to justify even getting a move to the Premier League.
“It certainly is going to have to be some complete readjustment of the wage package and valuations. As I say, it could be pay-per-play in some way, as we’ve seen people like Callum Wilson do.
“For Raheem, it seems like he’s been going forever. But he’s not that old really. He still hasn’t hit form and there are some niggling issues that are making me think that he’s not the right one for West Ham.”
West Ham face competition for midfielder
Meanwhile, Football Insider exclusively revealed that Atletico Madrid are rivalling West Ham in the race to sign Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes.
The Premier League club have made an enquiry for the 21-year-old as they work on getting a deal done this month.
But Atletico are now preparing a formal move for the Portugal Under-21 international.
Last weekend (9 August), Fernandes came off the bench to play the last half an hour as Southampton produced a dramatic comeback to beat Wrexham 2-1.
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