‘Fantastic’: Manager comments on Drogba-like striker’s future after no £15m West Ham deal

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West Ham United have been chasing New York City FC striker Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos – and boss Ronny Deila has called him a ‘fantastic’ player.

The Manchester Evening News reported in December that West Ham were showing a strong interest in signing Castellanos.

Besiktas were keen to, with a fee of around £15million placed on the Argentinian’s head.

Pep Guardiola spoke highly of Castellanos, but the January window passed without West Ham signing the striker.

Now, NYCFC boss Deila has told MLS Soccer that he thinks there are no problems with Castellanos after he missed out on a move.

Deila thinks the ‘fantastic’ Castellanos is very professional and will focus on NYCFC rather than any missed transfer.

Deila noted that the European window is closed so there should be no nasty surprises with Castellanos – which may just mean West Ham still have a chance this summer.

“I don’t think he has any problem,” said Deila. “When you’re an attractive club and you’re doing well, there’s always interest around our players. So he is professional. We are professional. He’s our player right now and we’re preparing for the game with Taty, and that’s of course very good for us, because he’s a fantastic football player. But I can also understand that there’s a lot of interest around him.”

“He’s a great player, anyone would be interested in him. But I haven’t heard anything, nothing new, and the window in Europe is closed. So I’m preparing with Taty for the season and into the summer, but things change quick in football,” he added.

Compared to Didier Drogba, Castellanos has taken MLS by storm in recent times.

The 23-year-old racked up 23 goals and eight assists in 36 games last season, shining as NYCFC won the MLS Cup.

It looks like Castellanos will have a future at a might higher level than MLS, and West Ham will be keeping tabs on him.

It’s over a year since Sebastien Haller was sold to Ajax and West Ham somehow still don’t have a replacement.

Michail Antonio needs help in attack and Castellanos could be their man at the end of the season.

With so much praise, Castellanos has a lot to live up to. So far, he’s taking it all in his stride and continues to excel, though Miguel Almiron’s form at Newcastle shows the step from MLS to Premier League is difficult.