West Ham United’s transfer window was a strange one, and there are bound to be mixed feelings about the Hammers’ business throughout January.
Jesse Lingard could be a solid addition, and selling Sebastien Haller for a sizeable fee was a great bit of work. However, their inability to replace him was disappointing.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying, West Ham pushed hard to sign players such as Youssef En-Nesyri, but they just couldn’t get that one over the line.
However, what doesn’t seem to add up is the Hammers’ failure to act on an opportunity that seemed to present itself on deadline day.
Indeed, Josh King has joined Everton, and that’s a deal that West Ham should have been all over.
We know that the Hammers are fans of King. After all, they reportedly made a sizeable bid for him earlier in the window, but he became available on deadline day at a cheaper fee of just £5m, and West Ham didn’t act.
Of course, beating Everton to his signature would have been a tough task, but Fulham managed to run them close, so it’s hard to imagine that West Ham wouldn’t have been able to make a good go of it.
The Hammers were desperate for a striker, and they didn’t get one, Michail Antonio is now the only senior number nine at the club, and if his injury problems resurface, David Moyes’ team could find themselves in a bit of trouble.
King looked to be the perfect solution, he was available, he’s scored goals at this level and he’s a player West Ham wanted.
The fact that West Ham weren’t one of the teams competing for his signature on deadline day is baffling, and it’s an opportunity that the London outfit may regret not taking.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
