West Ham director of football Tim Steidten is under scrutiny at the club due to concerns they have overpaid for players.
The club spent £123million on eight new players last summer, which has placed major limits on the budget available to new manager Graham Potter for signings this month. Steidten’s player judgment is not in doubt as he has been behind the recruitment of players such as Mohammed Kudus since he joined the club two-and-a-half years ago, but his negotiating skills have been questioned.
With money tight West Ham chairman David Sullivan has taken a more hands-on role with player negotiations during this month’s transfer window and is working closely with Potter. Signing a new striker is the club’s priority given lengthy absences of Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio.
West Ham offered Aston Villa £57m for Jhon Duran this week, which was quickly rejected, and are not in a position to significantly increase their bid. With Antonio, Bowen and summer signing Niclas Fullkrug all absent against Crystal Palace for West Ham’s last game, Kudus started as a central striker in the 2-0 defeat.
Steidten’s job is not under threat at the moment, although in the long-term much will depend on how he gels with Potter, who was given a two-and-a-half year contract when he was appointed to replace Julen Lopetegui earlier this month. The German clashed with both Lopetegui and his predecessor David Moyes before outlasting both of them, but is unlikely to win another power battle with a third manager.
“I wouldn’t say it’s imperative to sign a new striker,” West Ham’s new boss said amid the latest injury issues. “There’s certainly a logical rationale to do something but it’s not quite as simple as that.
“I wouldn’t want to make the wrong decision or do something for the sake of it. This window is very complicated. We have options and there are players coming back.”
Centre-back Max Kilman was the most expensive of West Ham’s summer recruits at £40m, with the Hammers also spending eight-figure sums on Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville, Luis Guilherme and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Brazilian wonderkid Guilherme cost £25m from Palmeiras but has made just five brief substitute appearances in the league.
Steidten also oversaw loan moves for Jean-Clair Todibo and Carlos Soler, with West Ham holding options to make those moves permanent at the end of the season. It remains to be seen whether the duo – signed from Nice and Paris Saint-Germain respectively – extend their stays.
West Ham finished ninth in the Premier Leaguelast season but sit 14th at the time of writing. Upcoming opponents Villa won 2-1 at the London Stadium on the opening weekend of the season, and also knocked the Hammers out of the FA Cup by the same scoreline on January 10.
