West Ham sold Edimilson Fernandes to FC Mainz in a deal widely described as normal. Given Pellegrini’s plans, I don’t think it’s worth giving much thought to.
Last month I wrote an article about how letting Fernandes go for 8m to Fiorentina was a bad idea. But now that West Ham have sold him to FC Mainz for the same fee, I’m really not too bothered. And if you trust Pellegrini, you shouldn’t be worried about it either.
Since Pellegrini took the manager job at the club, he’s been in charge of who we target and who we let go. It was his decision to keep Snodgrass and he wanted Anderson. So we can assume he sanctioned the Fernandes departure, so we can safely say that Fernandes didn’t fit the big man’s plans. So 1 point into the we should let him go column at least.
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Another point in favour of letting him go is that Fiorentina didn’t want him, despite multiple reports confirming the presence of a first option clause worth 8m. Given his age and the price of players in the current market, 8m is a bit of a steal for a central midfielder if you think they’re good enough for your side, especially if you’ve spent a year getting him acclimatised to the side and the location. But despite the potential deal on offer and their sunk costs into him, they didn’t want him. Not a great sign.
I’m still not happy with the 8m fee, because I think his versatility and talent he showed under Bilic was worth that already. Add that to a years experience playing in Serie A and I would have wanted to sell him for 10m or up, although German clubs are unlikely to pay the same kind of fee that English clubs want, so I suppose that can be explained by the change in league. Still, I think we could have done better.
Given our issue in the centre of midfield last year, I am a little disappointed he wasn’t given a bit more time around the club. We’ve had injuries and a lot of players in and out of form, so for me personally I would have tried to delay this transfer. Unless it’s needed to fund a transfer in…which could change things.
As it stands, I’m not a huge fan of the fee or timing of the transfer, however I trust Pellegrini and his vision for the club. So whilst I might be sitting here shrugging in apathy about the move, I hope that by the end of the window we’re going to think this was a good play for all involved. A bit of cash made and used to purchase an improvement and all will be good with the world. For now, meh.