West Ham United chase for Memphis Depay would make little sense amid Sky Sports claims
You know that old saying about waiting for a bus for ages and then two come along at once? Could that be West Ham and their striker search?
The Hammers finally got a striker into the club this summer after years of chasing targets when they signed Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo earlier in the window, with the Italian seen as a major coup.
But now there are reports that West Ham could be in for Barcelona outcast Memphis Depay, and the latest report from Sky Sports has only enhanced the belief that they could be in the race for the Dutch star.
Speaking on Sky Sports News on Friday morning [August 12], host Emma Payton said;
“A Premier League club in London have been in contact with Barcelona to try and sign Memphis Depay, and make him their highest paid player.”
Realistically, that could be one of four sides in the Premier League – Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham or West Ham United.
It’s safe to say you could probably rule two of those out quite quickly with the wages comments, as Spurs wouldn’t offer him more than they pay Harry Kane while Chelsea just signed Raheem Sterling on wages close to £300k per week.
Arsenal are a potential destination, but with the wage comments and the fact the club are still so active in the transfer market it looks more and more likely that the Hammers are well in the race for the 28-year-old former Manchester United man.
But while he would be a welcome addition and a statement signing, it would be pretty crazy for Moyes to bring him in on huge wages immediately after signing Scamacca and with Antonio still capable.
Squad depth is obviously something that the Hammers lacked last season and Moyes wants to address that, but it would make a lot more sense for them to prioritise other areas of the pitch than their attack now.
Memphis would come in and be deserving of the status of highest paid player, alongside Declan Rice, and would be a real show of intent for the club as they look to push for European glory.
But he’s not needed and could unsettle a core section of the squad who have established themselves at the club. Change is good, but too much change is bad.
If it’s true fans will undoubtedly be excited and he would undoubtedly bring quality and ability to the West Ham team that they haven’t had since Dmitri Payet, it just seems like a deal that would be done for the sake of it more than anything else.