West Ham April Fools: The top 5 worst recent player signings

On this beloved holiday of joking and tomfoolery, why not look back and discuss some of West Ham United’s most recent follies in the transfer market.

Anyone surrounding or following West Ham might understand already that they sometimes take a chance in the transfer market. A chance might be putting it lightly, but it just the truth. Until recent years it seemed that they used the quantity over quality method and it has backfired numerous times.

The list itself was quite lengthy so narrowing it down to just 5 was a feat all in its own and you could very easily have your own top 5 filled with completely different people. But without further ado, starting a number 5 and working down, here are the 5 worst recent transfers in.

Number 5

Havard Nordtveit

The seasoned Norwegian international player might not fall on many lists of this sort but then again… he might. Ever since Havard Nordtveit’s roller-coaster ride at Arsenal ended and he eventually found his way to West Ham via the German Bundesliga, and then back to Germany his career has been simply that, up and down.

While at West Ham, he played in 22 undesirable matches before leaving just one year later. The reason he falls to number 5 on this list was due to the unprecedented hype that he came with. A European international with Champions League experience, what couldn’t be right about this? Everything… but at least the Hammers got a profit from him when he left.

Number 4

Jonathan Calleri

Remember when I mentioned quantity over quality? Jonathan Calleri was definitely a product of that scenario and even though he did play in 21 matches for the Hammers his time here was short and honestly wasted. Not that he didn’t get a chance but when he did, he never really took advantage of it.

Not only did he not take advantage of it, he took time away from other players and was a waste of a transfer in and to nothing of his own fault but just bad scouting. Calleri’s time here would easily be forgotten if once again there wasn’t a huge hype about him coming and that lands him at number 4… not the worst but not great either.

Number 3

Alvaro Arbeloa

4 matches and really a waste of space and time is the best way, to sum up, Alvaro Arbeloa’s time at West Ham. It’s sad really because his career has spread all over the globe with great success. He played and succeeded at Real Madrid and Liverpool so clearly, the everyone knew who he was and why he was coming to the Hammers at a time when they needed a veteran right-back.

The biggest highlight of his time with the Hammers came when the club sent out his announcement video. Oh and we cannot forget the cryptic tweet he sent out when Slaven Bilic was sacked saying, and I paraphrase, “it’s about time.”

Number 2

Simone Zaza

Atalanta, Juventus, and West Ham? This guy is going to be great right? I mean, after all, he was the first opposing player to score at the London Stadium. But if his penalty kick charades in the World Cup wasn’t embarrassing enough, his time at West Ham must’ve been.

Simone Zaza never played a full match in just 11 matches with the club before going back to his parent club, Juventus. Arguably the biggest striker the club brought in for years at that time, but he flopped harder than the remake of Ghostbusters only to leave and then play better again. The anomaly of his time here is still an amazement to many and we may never get it.

Number 1

Roberto

Still haunting us even while on loan, Roberto has been without a doubt the worst recent signing by the club. To even think that he was originally slated to be brought in over his goalkeeping partner Lukasz Fabianski. He got a shot this season and instead of proving himself and earning his place he put on the worst keeper clinic that has been seen in a while.

In 8 EPL matches have conceded 18 goals and never once made a clean sheet or earned a win. It’s also safe to say that out of his 18 goals conceded, maybe only 1 or 2 of them weren’t his fault and do we even really want to talk about the EFL Cup match against Oxford United? By in large the worst recent transfer in and hopefully when he returns to the club he will be quickly sold.

These 5 players all have a few similarities… loads of hype coming in and loads of failure while at the club and honestly celebrated when sold or sent out. One a good note, besides Roberto, the club has seemingly gotten better at scouting and bringing in players and let’s hope that this list will never get any worse.