West Ham chief David Sullivan would have likely signed Samir Nasri on a long term contract were he still in charge of the transfer policy at the club, according to Football.London.
The football news outlet claim on their website that the Hammers have undergone a change behind-the-scenes in terms of who makes the decisions over new signings, with director of football Mario Husillos taking over responsibility from the long-serving co-chairman.
It is stated that if Sullivan was still responsible for having the final say of new arrivals, 41-cap French maestro Nasri would have been given a two-year deal after his short spell in east London, during which he made just six appearances for the Irons.
However, the report says that the transfer policy at the London Stadium has changed under Husillos and manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Opinion
The Hammers faithful best thank their lucky stars that Sullivan agreed to hand over control of things to Husillos, who appears to have a much more forward-thinking manner when it comes to new recruits for the club. Under Sullivan it felt like they were simply looking to sign big names regardless of how they might fit into the side – with a big contract to match the player’s reputation. That has resulted in some hit-and-miss signings over the years, the likes of Pablo Zabaleta and Marko Arnautovic coming good but Javier Hernandez has failed to live up to expectation. With Husillos now at the helm, it appears as though the focus on buying young and filling the gaps that need to be filled is working. You have to wonder how many new arrivals last summer were Sullivan signings and how many were recommended by Husillos, with another mixed bag of results.
