Three transfer targets that West Ham will be glad they failed to sign

Now that transfer news is irritatingly buzzing around the web again, I’m having a look back not at the almost-heroes we could have signed, but at the almost-zeros of Upton Park– players who we tried to sign, but in hindsight, I’m glad they became the ones who got away.

Sometimes who we don’t sign is just as important as who we do sign—whether on loan or permanently. Sure, we’ve signed some mistakes. Mladen Petric and Razvan Rat didn’t really work out, and, you know, Roger Johnson. We’ve also missed out on some big opportunities- Romelu Lukaku, Wilfried Bony, and Loic Remy, although I fully back Gold’s sentiments on why we didn’t go all out to sign him last summer. But equally, we’ve managed to avoid some players that we really thought would be excellent, only for them to flop elsewhere.

With that in mind here’s my three players who I’m glad I didn’t see pull on a claret and blue shirt.

Lacina Traore

Last season we were linked with tall Ivorian striker Lacina Traore as a loan signing from Monaco. The man looked big, tough, and was suspected of being a goal machine. This was a huge player (physically and metaphorically) for the Hammers to be linked to, but the deal completely fell through.

Everton swooped in at the last moment and stole our giant potential signing right from under our noses—and West Ham fans were furious that the board had let yet another deal slip through.

Constant West Ham information leak (and sometimes teenager) Jack Sullivan announced on twitter that Traore was not fit (rumoured to be hamstring related) but he appeared fit enough for Everton and went there on loan.

Flash forward a few months- and it turns out young Sully’s info was spot on. Traore made 1 appearance for Everton, and then did his hamstring in whilst warming up for them. He never played for them again.

The last thing West Ham needed was another injured gigantic striker- I don’t use the phrase ‘dodge a bullet’ lightly, but it works here.

Johnny Heitinga

Another player we looked certain to sign was Everton defender Johnny Heitinga. Experienced, confident, and, with a World Cup place to play for, the man sounded like a dream for our injury-blighted defence—except that he then rejected a nearly done deal to move to the (at the time) relegation threatened Hammers, saying that “You have to be fully convinced that you will make the right step and I didn’t have that.”

Rumours naturally abounded that he did not want to risk playing for a club that could get relegated, but equally it could have been that the step he was looking for was a step down in leagues—he went to Fulham, whose inability to defend eventually cost them their place in the Premier League. Fulham ended up letting in 85 goals this season (the highest number of any Premier League club) with 32 of them conceded while Heitinga was on the pitch.

Enjoy the championship, kiddo.

Kostas Mitroglou

Okay, admittedly, this bid lasted for all of an hour and was audacious, but it happened. In the dying moments of the transfer window, when it was rumoured that Mitroglou has agreed terms with Fulham, West Ham entered the fray with a last minute bid for the Greek striker. With a reported £12.4 deal on the table for Fulham (Mirror), this striker was expensive, but given his proficiency at Olympiacos, he seemed certain to fire in the goals – something West Ham were desperate for.

It didn’t work out for West Ham on this occasion – Fulham signed their man, but the goal machine they had hoped for didn’t exactly deliver. Mitroglou made just three first team appearances and didn’t score any first team goals. He’d have been a costly mistake that we could not have afforded to make, so I’m glad he got away.

This summer, we are certain to be linked with player after player, and, as we have a shockingly low number of players going to the World Cup, even an international tournament won’t deter our rumour mill from churning out links to impressive-sounding players.

But every now and then, when an exciting deal falls through- because it will happen- it’s important that we remember that we’re not going to regret every single one of the ones that got away—just some of them. Like Bony. I might always regret Bony.

Are you glad we avoided signing the above players? Have we already been linked with players you’d be glad not to sign? Let us know your thoughts below.