When West Ham United agreed to the controversial sale of home-grown starlet Grady Diangana in September, they obviously felt the furious reaction among fans – and a fair few players – could be quelled by the arrival of a top-class centre-half.
After all, manager David Moyes made it clear a commanding central defender was his top priority.
But after being priced out of the likes of James Tarkowski and Wesley Fofana, Craig Dawson arrived instead. With all due respect, it was rather underwhelming.
A 30-year-old loanee from Watford who had been relegated in two of the last three seasons wasn’t exactly what West Ham fans were hoping for when the departure of Diangana gave the Hammers’ board £20 million to play with.
According to The Sun, West Ham looked at Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah too.
But £30 million for a Germany international with a wealth of Champions League and Europa League experience proved a little too much for the Hammers.
“I certainly see parallels between Jonathan and Virgil van Dijk,” Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz says in Tah’s Jona 99 documentary, produced by DAZN, via Voetbal International.
“I know Van Dijk well because he comes from the Netherlands. He has taken steps, but he too has had to master the aggressiveness in defence. I’m sure Jonathan will succeed in that too.
“I think he is at his best when he plays aggressively. (If he does that from now on) he is a top player.”
While the immediate response would be to suggest West Ham will regret their reluctance to pay £30 million for a man Bosz so readily compares to Liverpool’s living legend, some context is required.
Tah himself admitted to Kicker this season has been something of a personal struggle. He’s no longer a guaranteed starter in the Bundesliga and, just weeks ago, was part of the Germany team that suffered its biggest defeat since 1931 at the hands of a rampant Spain.
Back at West Ham, meanwhile, Angelo Ogbonna and Fabian Balbuena have emerged as two of this season’s surprise stars. Furthermore, Diangana hasn’t come close to justifying his £20 million price tag yet with West Brom toiling badly.
It has all worked out rather well, in the end, for the Hammers. Although West Ham fans have long memories.
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