Pundit can’t believe David Moyes reveal at West Ham as ‘club-record’ signing jets in
Noel Whelan has insisted he can’t “understand why” West Ham are finding it hard to complete marquee signings this summer after David Moyes’ comments.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the Irons’ participation in the Europa Conference League should be a bargaining chip in negotiations.
As quoted by The Independent (24 August), Moyes claimed West Ham “really need” to add a couple of top players before the transfer deadline – but claimed it has been “very difficult” to get deals over the line.
He confirmed a bid for 33-cap Brazil international Lucas Paqueta, 24, who has notched 21 goals and 14 assists in 80 games for Lyon.
Fabrizio Romano updated on Friday (26 August) to claim that West Ham are waiting for Paqueta to jet in for medical tests after coming to an agreement with both club and player.
West Ham will reportedly pay a club-record fee of up to £51million for the player.
Whelan suggested the Irons’ tough start to the season could be behind the reluctance of other targets.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “David Moyes has been saying about how difficult he has found it to get these marquee players through the door,”
“He’s still finding it tough despite the progression they’ve made over the past few years.
“I don’t understand why they’re finding it so hard. Yes, it has been a difficult start to the season.
“But they’re in Europe and they’re building a competitive squad at the London Stadium.
“It could be the fact that they could lose some of their better players next summer – but there are definite question marks.“
“Hopefully they can get Paqueta through the door and progress this squad even further.”
In other news, medical insider issues “big” Vladimir Coufal claim as behind-the-scenes West Ham details emerge.