OPINION
West Ham are reportedly pursuing the services of Bernard who is a free agent following the expiration of his Shakhtar Donetsk contract.
The Guardian reported that the Hammers were looking to beat Chelsea to the services of the Brazilian winger after a failed attempt to get him earlier in the summer as they believed that Bernard was now willing to lower his demands.
The prestigious paper stated that the Hammers have previously switched their attention away from Bernard as he wanted to agree a deal that saw him earn in the region of £200,000k-a-week.
However the Hammers have plenty of competition for the speedy attacker’s services according to reliable club insider ExWHUemployee on Twitter especially as he has almost halved his expected wage demand.
Bernard talks still progressing: a number of clubs have lodged bids! He has almost halved his expected wage but Chinese clubs are still prepared to offer lots
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) August 4, 2018
Given that according to ExWHUemployee, who is rarely misinformed, there are clubs from China throwing lots of cash Bernard’s way. that means he could realistically choose to follow the money and not join the Hammers this summer.
Manuel Pellegrini needs to add another attacking option to his squad following losing Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini to injury for at least the first-half of the season.
While Bernard isn’t an out-and-out forward, instead he plays a winger or attacking midfielder, he still seems to be the player the club are trying to actively pursue to ensure they will get enough goals next season.
As ESPN stated free agents can still be signed after the transfer deadline day but the Hammers should set their own mini transfer deadline day for Bernard to make a decision so they can sure they adjust their plans accordingly.
Pellegrini’s side have been linked to several attackers in recent weeks and while Bernard’s services won’t cost a transfer fee, there will need to be room left for his huge paypacket to be covered in cases he joins.
This could see the Hammers avoid recruiting other attackers who would give their frontline the needed boost as they might be holding out false hope that Bernard was about to arrive.
The Hammers need to ensure that the speed demon makes a decision about his future or rules a move to the Hammers out ahead of the transfer deadline on August 9 to ensure a capable forward is recruited instead.
If Pellegrini waits on Bernard as the player’s suggests he’s on his way only to go elsewhere, the club don’t want to find themselves short of options.
Therefore the Hammers must set their own mini transfer deadline in their pursuit of Bernard to ensure his potential capture doesn’t see them take their eye off the ball when it comes to getting the needed deals over the line.
