Callum Wilson's career at West Ham started out shaky. He was a special signing from David Sullivan despite no one at the club or fan base valuing him. He was viewed as an injury -prone replacement for an injured club legend, Michail Antonio. He then had to play for Nuno Espirito Santo. who also did not value him at first, but then it all changed. A match-winner against Burnley in November of last year, a match-tying goal against Bournemouth, and of course the unforgettable match-winner against Tottenham in January that made fans believe again.
So it is official. Fabrizio Romano confirmed it this morning with his customary "Here we go," and Brentford have announced the signing. Wilson is a Brentford player on an initial 12-month contract, having left West Ham United on a free transfer. Twelve miles across London, and Wilson is back in the top flight, the division he refused to leave, the stage he was determined not to vacate regardless of what happened to the clubs around him.
For Brentford under new head coach Keith Andrews, it is a piece of business that is almost impossible to argue against. For West Ham, it is the latest in a long line of reminders this summer that other clubs are moving while they are standing still. Since March Wilson has had a standing offer to come back, once Sullivan stepped down, that offer was sweetened, making it difficult for Wilson to leave. He considered coming back, but wanted a bigger role at the club. Wilson spoke to recently promoted clubs Coventry and Ipswich, but ultimately the promise of more playing time and the Premier League was too hard to pass up.
Going after 100
Wilson has 95 Premier League goals to his name across 271 appearances. He is five goals away from becoming one of the select group of players to score 100 in the competition. A milestone that carries genuine historical weight and one that provides its own motivational engine regardless of what a player's contract status or age might otherwise suggest. He scored 7 league goals for West Ham last season in 1,240 minutes of football, contributing meaningfully for a side that was just not good enough. He did what strikers do. West Ham were relegated anyway.
Five goals. That is all that separates Wilson from a place in a very small group of Premier League history. Only 30 players have ever reached 100 goals in the competition, and the list is not filled with players like Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Andrew Cole, Frank Lampard, Robbie Fowler. Wilson at his peak belonged in that company and at 34, with Brentford's attack functioning well around him.
Igor Thiago is Brentford's first-choice striker and, according to the club's public position, not available for any price, regardless of the reported £80-90 million enquiries that arrived this summer. Wilson is not a challenger to Thiago's place. He is the experienced supersub behind him. He will close out games from the bench. His arrival means Thiago will have a true mentor to help him improve his game, and the safety net if he picks up an injury during what promises to be a difficult Premier League season. The move also allows Brentford's Kaye Furo, a 19-year-old Belgian striker, to move out on loan and get consistent first-team minutes. It all makes sense.
This still stings in a specific way because Wilson proved last season that he still has goals in him at the Premier League level. Seven for a team that finished in relegation is not a number to dismiss. He was not the problem. He will not be the solution for West Ham's problems, but watching him sign a one-year deal at a Premier League club twelve miles away, five goals from immortality, does nothing to make the summer feel any less bleak than it has so far.
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