Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
In years gone by you would have probably seen West Ham linked with Jay Rodriguez such is the measure of their rise in stature as of late they have now been linked with a headline grabbing £67m bid for Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez.
If the East London club were to pull off a signing of this magnitude then it would surely eclipse the double signing of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano back in 2006. They would go onto be World Class players once leaving Upton Park but now West Ham could possibly get them a real marquee signing.
And that is exactly what the club will want now that they have the keys to the Olympic Stadium and what better way to celebrate the housewarming then by smashing the British transfer record by capturing the services of the just turned 26 year old.
Of course it comes with the massive caveat which is whether or not Rodriguez would actually want to sign for West Ham, the Champions League winner isn’t necessarily guaranteed a first team spot at the Bernabeu but he would certainly not have to worry about that being an issue at the Olympic Stadium.
Manager Slaven Bilic will now have quite the selling pitch to give to Rodriguez but if anyone is capable of it it would be the charismatic Croatian. Yes The Hammers may have European action next season but Rodriguez would have to make do with the bright lights of the Europa League and not the chance to defend the Champions League next season.
That said though he was only a bit part player in Real Madrid Champions League campaign and Zinedine Zidane may feel that Rodriguez’s area of the pitch is already one that they are well stocked in and therefore could use the incoming funds to improve the balance of his squad and bring in some new faces.
The bid doesn’t only show the ambition of West Ham but it also shows the financial muscle that the Premier League holds over it’s rival European competitions. With the new TV deal now in full effect, English clubs are now going to even have more financial clout this Summer.
Not only that also shows how the playing field in the Premier League is leveling out even further, before a £67m bid would have been the preserve for only the very top clubs but with so much money available to Premier League clubs that is no longer the case.
From last season the notion of the ‘Big 4’ as we used to know it has been killed off thanks to Leicester’s title success but let’s not forget West Ham finished 6th and were only a handful of points away from earning a place in the Champions League themselves.
This means the Premier League is going to be an even tougher competition next season even more so if West Ham can pull off arguably the biggest transfer coup in British Football but from a viewing spectacle it’s going to make it even more interesting to watch.
