OPINION
West Ham must feel smug over how Tom Cairney’s season for Fulham is going currently as it shows that Manuel Pellegrini’s side had a lucky escape not signing him in the summer.
The Hammers were consistently linked to the central midfielder and Sky Sports even reported in June that the club had seen a £20million bid for Cairney rejected by the Cottagers.
It was then reported by Claret & Hugh later in that same month that the Hammers had to end their desire for the Fulham captain as the Premier League new boys were refusing to sell him despite their best efforts.
However fast forward a few months and Fulham’s stance regarding keeping Cairney come what may, has turned out to be a blessing for the Hammers.
Fulham have been struggling in the Premier League this season, with their defensive record ridiculously bad, and part of the reason behind their struggles has been down to them being unable to call upon Cairney.
The 27-year-old has managed to make only six appearances this season and even when he has featured he hasn’t looked amazing.
For instance during his appearance against Huddersfield Town on Monday, he went missing for large parts of the game and had no real influence on proceedings.
Given that the Hammers were believed to be willing to splash £20million on him, then they must be thanking their lucky stars Fulham didn’t budge on their stance regarding the player.
Pellegrini has already been dealt several headaches this season due to injury-prone midfielders and if the club had welcome Cairney, he would have just been another name on the injury list.
The 27-year-old looked susceptible to spending time on the sidelines last season as a knee injury did see him miss a number of games, and any problem regarding the knee always seems to have a way of resurfacing.
Therefore the Hammers must feel smug that Premier League struggles Fulham were so set on holding onto Cairney because as it stands, it has been a blessing that Pellegrini doesn’t have him in his squad.
