Scott Minto claims West Ham should overpay for transfer targets after surprise Declan Rice fee
Commentator Scott Minto has suggested that overpaying for some transfer targets may be in West Ham United’s best interest as they got “more than they should have” for Declan Rice.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the Sky Sports commentator suggested that overpaying for the likes of targets James Ward-Prowse and Harry Maguire may be in the Hammers’ best interest as they need new recruits soon and Rice’s £105million fee was a lot for a midfield player.
West Ham are currently the only side not to make a signing this summer following the £105million sale of Rice, which Minto claims could make clubs overvalue their assets.
Speaking live on talkSPORT, Minto said: “I think Ward-Prowse would be a great fit for West Ham. There’s a hole burning in West Ham’s pocket, and other clubs know that.
“What I would try and do, and I’ve not been a director of football, but I would think to myself that we actually got more than we should have done for Declan Rice. To get him for £105million, for a central midfielder, that’s a lot of money.
“If you can get a Ward-Prowse, maybe a McTominay, maybe one other whether it’s Harry Maguire, for £100 to £120million. You may have overpaid on some of those players, but actually if you compare it to what you’ve brought in.
“The problem then is the wages. Do you bring in Harry Maguire and match whatever wages he’s on? Then other players will say they should be on that. There’s always something to think about.
“If we can get two or three players for that price, actually that works out as a good deal.”
Necessary evil?
When a player leaves a club for big money, other clubs will naturally hike up the price of their players of that team comes in.
When Neymar was sold to PSG in 2017, Barcelona struggled to make good deals as clubs knew they had plenty of money to spend. Now, West Ham perhaps have fallen victim to their own success, and clubs will push them to the bitter end to get the most out of a sale.
What Minto says here, on paper, could be seen as silly. Why would a club overpay for a player? But in West Ham’s scenario, they may have to if they want to get recruits through the door.
Southampton’s haggling over £10million for Ward-Prowse is an understandable position for them to take. if the Hammers have the money to spend, why not charge a premium?
Perhaps the only way for West Ham to get new faces at the club is to give in to these premiums.
The Hammers need recruits and plenty of them. The midfield issue has not been solved and the lingering shadow of Rice’s absence still looms. With strikers Gianluca Scamacca and perhaps Michail Antonio set to leave the club too, fans may be getting worried about the state of their club come the start of the season.
However, they could be rewarded for their patience with a double signing from Manchester United with McTominay and Maguire reportedly undergoing medicals to join the Hammers.
While the window is slowly shutting, West Ham may have to pay over the odds to improve their side.
In other West Ham news, the club are “working hard” to secure their latest 15-goal forward target.