West Ham’s transfer approach confusing after Joe Allen bid, Leander Dendoncker failure

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West Ham United failed to land Joe Allen in January.

West Ham United ended the January transfer window without the central midfielder that manager David Moyes wanted, but it wasn’t for the want of trying.

The Hammers did snap up playmaker Joao Mario and striker Jordan Hugill in January, but landing a natural central midfielder was a top priority for Moyes, and that didn’t go through.

However, West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan has now opened up on the club’s transfer window, telling talkSPORT that the Hammers actually lodged a £25million bid for Stoke ace Joe Allen.

Stoke snubbed that offer, but such a major offer – which would have matched the club’s record signing – sums up the sometimes baffling approach West Ham have taken to transfers in recent years.

The Hammers have invested heavily in signing players 28 or over, having landed Jose Fonte, Robert Snodgrass, Javier Hernandez, Pablo Zabaleta and Marko Arnautovic in 2017, and signed Joe Hart on loan.

Whilst limited re-sale value could be dealt with if those players made immediate impacts, that hasn’t been the case, and splashing a major fee on Allen, who turns 28 next month, would have been another indication that West Ham’s long-term goals are unclear.

Launching such a big move is also confusing given that a younger player with huge potential – Anderlecht’s Leander Dendoncker – was another target for West Ham, though HLN in Belgium report that West Ham only offered £4.4m in a loan deal, then a further £8.8m to make the deal permanent.

Anderlecht allegedly wanted €20million (£17.7million) for Dendoncker, but West Ham weren’t willing to pay that, yet were prepared to go up to £25million for Allen in a somewhat strange choice.

Dendoncker looks to be a star of the future and possesses the versatility to play in holding midfield or at centre back, and would be more like a Manuel Lanzini or Michail Antonio, whose values have risen since joining West Ham – whereas they would almost certainly have never seen the £25million on Allen again, and this is a recurring theme with the Hammers that needs to be addressed.