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Jacob Steinberg reveals what West Ham United insiders make of Tim Steidten transfer business
West Ham insiders have been impressed by the work conducted by technical director Tim Steidten in his first transfer window at the club, according to journalist Jacob Steinberg.
The Hammers saw club captain Declan Rice depart for Arsenal in a £105million deal in the summer, while Manuel Lanzini left on a free and Gianluca Scamacca was offloaded to Atalanta.
In turn, United brought in Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mohammed Kudus, with the latter considered a coup in particular.
In an article for The Guardian [15 September], Steinberg revealed: “Insiders have been impressed with Steidten, noting the German’s diligence and praising him for his work on convincing Ajax to sell Kudus.”
Huge praise
Steidten may not have managed to factor in a summer holiday, but the German got to see plenty of the world as he seemingly jetted from one country to another in the aim of pushing through transfers.
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Signing Alvarez and Ward-Prowse ensures West Ham now have a stronger central midfield than last season, despite the loss of Rice, while Mavropanos provides some quality central-defensive cover.
It was the signing of versatile attacker Kudus that attracted most attention, though, given the Ghana international had been linked with a number of elite clubs across the continent.
At one point it looked like the deal may have been off, but United ultimately managed to agree a fee with Ajax and personal terms with the player himself.
All in all, West Ham came out of the summer transfer window stronger than they were at the end of last season.
Tim Steidten, David Moyes, David Sullivan and everyone else high up involved in deals deserve huge praise for that.
In other West Ham news, the Irons may have received a blessing in disguise after manager Moyes was snubbed for an award.