Maxi Gomez to West Ham: Now, Summer or Never?
West Ham have had a strange January with striker signings, or not signing. Will Maxi Gomez join the club? And when?
It seems like every window we manage to manufacture our own problems. Just as we were heading into a window where things seemed fine, injuries hit, star players go on strike and it all goes a bit wrong. But the signing of Maxi Gomez had people interested. Until Arnie undid his request and the move wasn’t able to be funded.
But we’re still strongly linked wit the young Uruguayan hitman, and that is positive. It hasn’t dried up completely but it seems as though there are multiple stories about when he will join, if he will be loaned back or if he will join at all. So what’s going on?
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Well I think we can pretty much rule out him joining before the end of the transfer window. To do that we’ have to meet his 43m release clause in a lump sum and that not only goes against the ethos of the owners, but could cause us to fall foul of financial fair play. I doubt the Davids will put years of thrift behind them to splurge on a January signing on the last day. But I’ve been wrong before.
For me it is only slightly more likely that we don’t sign him at all. Usually if this was a fake rumour or a player just looking to switch clubs you see his name linked with many others across the leagues. But every story on news sites at the moment is to do with West Ham. Pellegrini wants his man, and is determined to get him one way or another.
The most likely scenario is this: We pay 40m, just under the release clause and loan him back to Celta Vigo until the end of the season. This allows us to pay in instalments rather than a single lump sum and allows Celta Vigo to scout a suitable replacement. Gomez joins us for pre-season and gets used to the club before he’s thrown into a match? Win, win, win.
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Unfortunately there is also a possibility there is no deal struck until the summer, allowing other clubs a chance to get in. However I am confident this will end up with Gomez in Claret and Blue, but not playing his first game until August. But who knows, crazier things have happened on deadline day.