OPINION
David Sullivan is the West Ham transfer brains. He always has been and always will be.
Sure, Mario Husillos was appointed the Londoners’ new director of football earlier this month and has been given the mandate of spearheading the club’s recruitment and window business.
But reliable sources, including the excellent Ex-WHU Employee, claim it is Sullivan still pulling the strings behind the scenes. It is the co-owner who did the Lukasz Fabianski, Ryan Fredericks and Issa Diops deals, and who has led the way on the negotiations to land Lazio forward Felipe Anderson.
It was also Sullivan who tried to pull of what would have been a huge coup in persuading Javier Pastore to join from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
The Argentina attacking midfielder could have dazzled at the London Stadium in the way that Dimitri Payet once did, but that will not happen now after Roma announced on Tuesday they had signed the player for £21million.
Intriguingly, the Times report that West Ham were massively outbid by the Serie A club.
It is said West Ham had offered £14million for the 29-year-old, a lowball bid bid £7million below the asking price.
Given Pastore’s pedigree and track record, that was a baffling and embarrassing attempt at signing him from Sullivan and company.
West Ham have done some decent business this summer. Diop has the potential to be a fine centre-back and Fredericks and Fabianski should go straight into the starting XI.
But the Londoners have struggled to push the big deals over the line.
Little wonder when Sullivan, whose transfer antics have long frustrated the life out of the Hammers faithful, keeps mucking up with such puny bids.
He needs to end the nonsense and negotiate in a smarter and more structured manner.
