West Ham fans have been left divided on social media by the news that Norwegian international Havard Nordtveit has departed the club for Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.
The 26-year-old midfielder moved on from the London Stadium for an undisclosed fee, with West Ham confirming that he had left via their official Twitter account:
Best of luck in the future, Havard. https://t.co/Q4WdzFLNuT
— West Ham United (@WestHam) June 20, 2017
The news of his departure left fans with mixed feelings, with some happy to see the back of the 31-time-capped international, while others bemoaned the club’s treatment of the versatile midfielder.
This is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets.
https://twitter.com/WHUFC_rhyspaul/status/877176206625558528
Nordtveit was never going to work out, he just doesn't move quickly enough physically or in his head. Good luck to him, though. #coyi #whufc
— ? Rick ? (@WHUricky55) June 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/WestHam_daily/status/877169032339783680
Absolute shocking player, thank god he will never play for us again.
— DTTBB (@Si_Whu) June 20, 2017
Fair play to Nordtveit though, he is going to an actually tactically knowledgeable manager and will be playing in the Champions League.
— Mitchell Pearce (@Pearcey_) June 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/JessicaBath95/status/877173753230307328
https://twitter.com/KingdomOfWHAM/status/877168726671597569
What you get for playing someone out of position. Played in his proper place against Everton and was a rock! Shame to see him go. #WHUFC
— Scott (@Scott_Burgess) June 20, 2017
Able to play as a defensive midfielder or at the heart of the defence, Nordtveit only spent a single season with the East London club, having joined from Hoffenheim’s fellow German side Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2016.
The move means the 26-year-old will return to the Bundesliga, the league where he spent seven seasons with Nuremberg and Monchengladbach.
He appeared to struggle to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, making just 16 appearances as he failed to find the net for the Hammers.
Nordtveit’s departure leaves Hammers boss Slaven Bilic with Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate and Pedro Obiang as the obvious defensive midfielders at his disposal, while 21-year-old Josh Cullen could stake a claim having returned from a loan spell at Bradford City.