West Ham United were linked with a host of strikers across Europe including some big names throughout the summer transfer window but faced nothing but disappointment in every pursuit. Their search for a quality number nine still goes on as it is one of those many positions where they lacked quality in the first half of the season. So, Slaven Bilic still looking for that missing piece in the jigsaw in January is not surprising at all.
French sensation Moussa Dembele has made a name for himself at Celtic since his move to the north of the border from London club Fulham in the summer and in the process, he has attracted plenty of suitors including West Ham United as per reports. Sky Sports claims that the Hammers made a £20m bid for the 20-year-old which has been rejected straight away by the Hoops and they have been told that he is valued way higher than what they had offered.
So, what does this mean? Should West Ham go back in his hunt with an improved offer or just look for other options? Well, £20m is a big fee for a player who joined a club just six months back for literally nothing. As he moved outside England, Fulham did not get too big a tribunal fee for the French wonder kid which means almost whole of the £20m would be a profit.
But, one thing West Ham have to consider that is Dembele had multiple options to move to in the Premier League with the potential he had. Then, why did he move to Celtic? The answer is pretty clear. He wanted regular first-team football and grow as much as a player as possible. The Premiership might not be as fascinating as the Premier League but he is getting what he wanted i.e. exposure and the opportunity to work with Brendan Rodgers.
At the moment, Dembele is an indispensable member of the Celtic squad and no matter who is interested, he is unlikely to change his mind about his immediate future. Probably in two or three years, Dembele will certainly move to a better league with a top club but as of now, West Ham can forget about this deal. They wasted the whole summer chasing unrealistic targets like Lacazette or Batshuayi and once again such unrealistic pursuits makes little sense.
There are many realistic targets for West Ham in the market unlike Dembele and they should go for them. West Ham owners have exercised patience with Bilic and it is time for him to repay them for the faith shown. He is running out of time and will regret such a poor transfer policy later.
