West Ham’s failure to land Tom Cairney with £15m bid now looking very costly

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West Ham United tried to sign Fulham’s Tom Cairney in January.

West Ham United’s failure to sign Fulham playmaker Tom Cairney during the January transfer window is now beginning to look very costly, as David Moyes’ men slip towards the bottom three.

The Hammers saw a £15 million bid for the 27-year-old rejected late in the January window, as per Sky Sports, and instead of going back in with an increased offer West Ham opted to walk away.

At the time, West Ham weren’t looking in grave danger of relegation, and many perhaps felt a figure of that magnitude could be spent more wisely rather than on a Championship midfielder.

Having said that, Cairney was just coming back to full fitness at the time. and over the past two months he has put in the sort of performances you would expect from a Premier League playmaker.

West Ham, in contrast, are struggling badly, with their latest 3-0 home defeat to Burnley prompting ugly scenes from supporters clearly not happy with the direction the club are heading.

Many fans could point to the poor recruitment over the past 18 months – and in midfield particularly – the club are devoid of any real creativity.

As shown above, Fulham’s Cairney is more creative than any of West Ham’s current midfielders – averaging more assists from open play, chances created and accurate passes per game. West Ham are crying out for a player of Cairney’s calibre – with his awareness, style and control in possession real standouts.

Only two points now separate Southampton in 18th and West Ham just above them, and the duo are set to play each other after the international break in what will be a crunch game in the fight for survival.