The West Ham United boss allegedly turned down a loan move for Renato Sanches, who ultimately swapped Bayern Munich for Swansea City.
West Ham United fans would have been forgiven for double-taking when they read comments from their joint-chairman about potential summer transfers earlier this month.
In an article published on the Hammers’ official website, David Sullivan confirmed the club had been offered the chance to sign both Grzegorz Krychowiak and Renato Sanches, only for West Ham manager Slaven Bilic to say no and watch them join West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City respectively.
The decision to snub Sanches is particularly bizarre given the faltering influence of skipper Mark Noble, who many West Ham fans feel should have been hooked from the starting line-up long ago.
Noble’s impact has been on the wane since last season and there is no doubt Sanches would have been a considerable upgrade.
The fact that Bilic felt he had enough quality in that area of the field speaks volumes and perhaps hints that his time at the club is coming to an end if he is really that out of touch.
After all, the 20-year-old Portuguese international is an outstanding talent who – if he plays to his full potential – will put Noble in the shade despite his inexperience of English football.
There are few players more loyal to their club than Noble is to West Ham, but loyalty is not enough when your performances do not justify your continued selection.
Bilic should have snapped Bayern’s hand off for Sanches, even if it was only for a year. He should have identified a clear area of weakness in West Ham’s starting XI and solved it with a bargain deal.
Instead he watched Sanches move to a top flight rival and you can rest assured that decision will come back to bite him given his lack of alternatives for an under-performing skipper.
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