OPINION
West Ham must crush Everton’s dreams by hijacking their reported pursuit of Real Sociedad centre-forward Willian Jose.
According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo the Toffees are keen on signing the Brazilian attacker so much that they’re not put off by the fact his release clause requires £52.6million to be paid for his services.
While the price will remain high even though it could be lowered slightly with some excellent negotiations skills, the Hammers need to swoop in and grab the wonderful attacking talent for themselves.
Jose is clinical and just a general joy to watch, which he proved when he scored 20 goals in 40 appearances for Sociedad in his latest campaign.
The Brazilian aside from his potent finishing ability, is capable in the air and is able to cut defences open with his passing ability.
He may have only registered four assists last season but if in a team with Marko Arnautovic, then he would compliment the forward so well that his assist numbers would shoot through the roof compared to his recent season.
Also with Jose being only 26-years-old, there’s room for him to continue to grow and that is a terrifying thought.
So if the Toffees are set to make their interest concrete then the Hammers should be ready to guide him away from Merseyside and straight to the London Stadium, as if he’s on the move he needs to come to the capital.
This is true even though a previous report by Claret & Hugh implied that Manuel Pellegrini wasn’t going to add any new forwards to his squad unless Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and Andy Carroll left.
However with Jose potentially being available, the Hammers should just cash-in on both Hernandez and Carroll to go after the 26-year-old Brazilian as he’s worth it.
Carroll in fairness shouldn’t be kept at the club anyway as after another injury hit campaign, scoring only three goals in 18 games in the 2017/18 season, the club should be getting rid in this window.
The 29-year-old forward’s contract ends in 2019 and if there’s any club foolish enough to want to invest in purchasing the attacker then the Hammers should be snapping their hand off to ensure they get a fair price.
As for Hernandez after scoring only eight goals in his debut season for the Hammers, he could have been afforded another chance but his latest actions show that maybe a waste of time even with a new boss.
Claret & Hugh reported that Pellegrini was set to talk to the Mexican international about his future but the forward doesn’t deserve to be chased after if anything he should be begging for an opportunity to stay after a miserable campaign.
The forward showed his true colours when he opted to play it coy over his future, during a Mexico press conference covered by the Daily Mail , and it wouldn’t be a shame to wave goodbye.
Therefore the Hammers must hijack Everton’s dreamy pursuit of Jose by binning Carroll and Hernandez not only to free up funds to buy him, but to make space in the team for his arrival.
