Football journalist Dean Jones has been speaking on the latest edition of Touchline Talk to discuss West Ham United’s lack of January business.
The Hammers failed to bring in any new faces to the London Stadium during the winter transfer window, with David Moyes’ squad now set for the remainder of the season.
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However, reports do suggest the east Londoners made an attempt in the window for Leeds United duo Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha in a spectacular late move.
It is believed the Hammers identified the pair as possible targets with Moyes desperate to strengthen his squad and saw bids rejected for the both players – which were then mocked by Leeds midfielder Phillips.
Ahead of the east Londoners picking back up in the FA Cup at the weekend, Jones had the following to say about West Ham’s pursuit of the Leeds duo:
“I mean, from what I can gather, it’s basically David Sullivan thinking, ‘oh, let’s go for this’.
“I mean, I kind of see the reasoning in it, like, you know that Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips’ long-term future isn’t tied up, you know that you’ve got an opportunity to make the top four. There is a price tag that probably could have got them. And he was like, let’s try our luck.
“Now, ultimately, £50m for each was never going to be enough, because why would Leeds do that? And also, you’re not obviously going to spend £100m on those players.”
TIF Thoughts on West Ham’s late move…
We were extremely surprised not to see West Ham bring in any new faces in January with plenty still to play for in their 2021/22 campaign.
The Hammers remain in the race for a place in the top four and still have Europa League football to compete in, however, they have to do so with just one senior striker in their squad.
Signing Raphinha and Phillips would have been incredible business by the Hammers, with Raphinha in fine form this season and Phillips becoming a regular in the England side along with Declan Rice.
However, we do not think this was a move that would have even left Leeds considering the possibility of selling.
Some feel Raphinha alone could be worth in the region of £100m, so offering half of that with barely any time remaining for Leeds to reinvest feels like an incredibly desperate move from the Hammers.
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