Report: West Ham made another loan-to-buy midfielder offer in January
Throughout the January transfer window it appeared that there was one specific deal West Ham United were vigorously searching for.
Yes, the central midfielder on a loan to buy. That was what the Hammers wanted, and eventually they got it with Tomas Soucek from Slavia Prague.
However, they attempted to get a similar sort of signing done quite a few times with several different players, it seems.
That won’t come as a surprise to any Hammers fans, who are used to this sort of penny pinching from the two Davids.
Indeed, Calcio Mercato reported on Thursday that the Hammers made a loan-to-buy bid for Inter Milan midfielder Roberto Gagliardini.
The club’s interest in the Italian is firmly established at this point, but the specifics of the bid had yet to be revealed.
Now, though, it appears that it was the typical offer made by the east London club during last month’s window.
Still, Inter are said to have been unconvinced by the structure of the deal, while the player himself wanted to remain in Milan.
Why were West Ham so keen on loan-to-buys?
It’s a weird one, because it seems to be something that obsessed David Sullivan throughout the winter transfer window.
Perhaps he was so enamoured by the purchase option because it gave him and David Moyes time to evaluate the true worth of a player.
However, it’s also likely that Sullivan was protecting himself in case the Irons were relegated from the Premier League.
If that happened then it would be highly unlikely that a Soucek or a Gagliardini would join permanently, protecting the club’s finances in the second tier.
In other West Ham news, the injuries suffered by one Hammers winger reportedly required injections.