It seems like Slaven Bilic is finally getting his cards right after a hellish first half to the season where everything went wrong for the Hammers. The London club have now won the race for Hull City’s star winger Robert Snodgrass with the player set for a medical at the club ahead of his £10m move from KCOM Stadium.
After winning the race to sign former Southampton skipper Jose Fonte, Bilic has come out victorious yet again for the signature of the 29-year-old Scotland international. Reportedly, Snodgrass rejected offers from Middlesbrough and Burnley to move to West Ham United. Middlesbrough had pulled out of the race after Aitor Karanka admitted to having fallen short of the bid tables by the Clarets and the Hammers of £7.5m up front and a potential £2.5m in bonuses.
The player missed the EFL Cup semi-final clash with Manchester United on Thursday owing to an injury although we don’t hope it would hinder his move to London. New Hull City boss stated that they parted ways with the player on good terms. The Tigers seem to have started making arrangements to fill Snodgrass’ void, and adding Markovic was the first step.
Snodgrass has scored seven times and assisted thrice this season so far in 20 appearances and he already looks a better replacement for Dimitri Payet, who managed only two goals and seven assists in 18 appearances. Bilic has failed to rely on the wings since Payet decided not to play for the club anymore. Against Crystal Palace, he played with wing-backs while against Middlesbrough, he fell back to the after 4-4-2. With Snodgrass in the side who can play both on the wings as well as centrally, Bilic could try a more incisive approach now with the 4-2-3-1 setup.
Michail Antonio has played in almost every position now apart from the goalkeeper, and this move will help him get back to his natural side backs role. The Hammers are also closing in on Scott Hogan and we expect that deal to go through in a couple of days.
Payet’s departure, which has been stalled for long now, could get a green signal. West Ham have already rejected three bids from Marseille for him and the latest rejected bid was reported to be £25m plus £3m in bonuses. Reports in France suggested that Payet has already agreed to personal terms on a contract worth £100,000 a week, which is a £25,000 reduction from his current salary.
