The midfielder was strongly linked with West Ham United but ultimately stayed where he was.
The news that many West Ham United fans expected for weeks was finally announced this morning when Slaven Bilic parted company with the club, and one cannot help but feel sorry for the manager, wondering if things would have been different if he had got a little luckier in the summer transfer window.
One player West Ham were long linked with was Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, with Sky Sports reporting that the Hammers made a £23million bid for the 25-year-old and a later, improved offer, both of which were rejected by the Portuguese side.
Sporting allegedly contacted West Ham on deadline day in a bid to push a deal over the line but that failed and the Hammers were left with a midfield that has come in for plenty of criticism this season, not least the performances of skipper Mark Noble.
William has been linked with a potential move to the Premier League for years, and one wonders what could have been if he had made the switch to the London Stadium in the summer.
While a club’s fate rarely rests in the hands of a single player, William’s ability as a holding midfielder could have seen him operate as an effective shield in front of West Ham’s much-maligned defence, and with a few more victories Bilic could still be in a job.
This is all hypothetical yet there is no doubting William’s ability, and the fact that West Ham needed quality in midfield means he would have certainly improved their options, potentially proving to be every bit as important in the centre of the park as Pablo Zabaleta is at the back.
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