West Ham make new £600,000 bid to seal late transfer
West Ham United’s second bid for teenage Celtic forward Daniel Cummings totalled £600,000, according to Ben Jacobs.
Speaking on talkSPORT (3 February, 11:20am), Jacobs said that after the Irons’ first bid of £500,000 was rejected by the Scottish Champions, their improved second offer was met with the same response.
The Hammers do not plan on submitting a third offer for the 18-year-old striker, whose current deal at Celtic is up at season’s end, and they’ll instead pursue their pre-contract agreement with Cummings.
Jacobs said: “West Ham are very busy at the moment; they’ve made two offers now for the young Celtic forward Daniel Cummings.
“The first around £500,000, the second £600,000 – both of them have been rejected, so now West Ham are not prepared to bid again, and they’re prioritising trying to find a pre-agreement for the summer.”
West Ham transfer stance will leave Celtic fans baffled
Although few Hammers fans would have expected Cummings to come in and make an immediate impact at Premier League level, they and the club would still have liked to see the teenager head to East London.
However, Celtic fans will be non-plussed at their side’s Deadline Day decision, given that when Cummings does move, they’re now in line to earn far less than the £600,000 they’ve already passed up.
Cummings moving to the London Stadium on a free transfer in five months’ time – which he’ll be inclined to do given his lack of first-team minutes in Scotland – will earn Celtic just £350,000 in compensation [Dharmesh Sheth, 3 February].
As a result, you’d have expected Celtic to take the increased money – almost double in this case – for the striker while they still can, rather than holding firm to retain the services of a player they’re not making use of.
Evan Ferguson’s now-announced signing should solve the Hammers’ striker problem for the time being, but with Cummings still set to move, the future is sorted.
In other West Ham news, at least one Deadline Day addition at the London Stadium is now certain in the form of a returning loanee.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp channelfor instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.