West Ham United have reportedly agreed to sell Jordan Hugill for £3 million this summer.
It will come as absolutely no surprise to West Ham fans that Manuel Pellegrini is ready to let Jordan Hugill leave the London Stadium this summer after a torrid spell with the Hammers.
The Sun reports that the Irons have agreed a £3 million fee with Wigan for the 27-year-old, and the striker is now holding discussions with the Latics over a contract.
The report adds that West Ham could have to hand Hugill some of the fee to help push a deal through, which would only add to the disappointment surrounding a £10 million move that looks destined to go down as one of the club’s worst pieces of business.
The Hammers are almost certainly never going to recoup the large majority of the fee that they paid for Hugill. But with the forward still having three years on his contract (via club’s official website), perhaps West Ham are actually making a mistake in selling him in this particular deal.
For a club like West Ham, a £3 million fee is not going to make a huge difference to their summer plans. Perhaps therefore, they should consider loaning him out once again this year in the hope that he can have the kind of year that tempted the Hammers to part with £10 million in the first place.
If he can score a good number of goals – which he is more than capable of doing in the second tier – the Irons could easily ask for significantly more next summer, and may not need to worry about handing the striker some of the fee to push a deal through.
Of course, that gamble could backfire and Hugill could be worth even less next summer. And it is understandable that West Ham would want to offload him permanently as soon as possible to bring an end to his time with the club.
But holding out for one more year and loaning him out in the hope that his value increases over the coming season may be a gamble worth taking for West Ham.
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