David Moyes shared that he wanted to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel when he was manager of West Ham.
The former Hammers boss shared that the 30-year-old midfield enforcer was someone he was interested in recruiting last year when the player was playing his football for Chinese side TJ Tianhai.
Moyes suggested that his interest in signing Witsel didn’t get far as his wage was deemed too big for the Hammers.
“He is someone I was interested in when at West Ham last year when he was in China but his money was too big,” said Moyes on BBC Radio 5 Live (19:37, Tuesday March 5th).
OPINION
Borussia Dortmund managed to successfully sign Witsel in the summer and it has looked like a smart move ever since. The 30-year-old has generally wowed in his 33 outings this season and has even managed to score five goals. It’s understandable why Moyes, if he had stayed on as manager, probably wouldn’t have gotten his wish to see Witsel at the London Stadium as he was no doubt on a bumper salary in China. Yet it’s weird to imagine if he had succeeded. If Witsel had arrived at the Hammers then perhaps Declan Rice would never have been moved into midfield and wouldn’t be on the brink of earning an international cap for England. The 20-year-old has transformed under Manuel Pellegrini after the experienced manager opted to use him as a holding midfielder rather than a centre-back but that probably wouldn’t have been the case if Witsel had been at the club as he would no doubt had preferred using him. So while Witsel would have been an amazing signing, given how Rice has soared as a defensive midfielder, it seems every cloud has a silver lining.