OPINION
Any West Ham fans hoping for another summer of serious spending will have had their belief buoyed by their early summer capture of Pablo Fornals.
However, it appears as though the Spaniard’s capture was a one-off rather than a sign of things to come for the Hammers – at least until they get some of their fringe players and wantaway talents off the books.
Football.London have reported that West Ham are facing a summer of selling in order to purchase new players, Fornals’ capture taking a huge chunk out of the limited funds Manuel Pellegrini did have at his disposal at the start of the transfer window.
The same news outlet went on to report that the club are no closer to getting rid of those who are on the chopping block in east London, midfielder Pedro Obiang chief among those after falling to the fringes of the first team last season.
The 27-year-old, who Claret and Hugh state has an £8million asking price on his head this summer, is behind the likes of Jack Wilshere, Mark Noble and Declan Rice in the pecking order and Fornals’ move to east London does not help his cause at all.
While it appeared there was no interest in his signing as yet, Corriere Dello Sport claim in their print edition (27/06), as relayed by Tutto Mercato Web, that Italian side Bologna are keen on bolstering their midfield and have identified the West Ham man as a potential solution.
With the asking price of Sassuolo’s Alfred Duncan said to be a problem for Bologna in their midfield hunt, it is Obiang’s wages which pose a hurdle to the Serie A side securing his capture – leaving the Irons with a dilemma.
While they will not want to lose him for a price they deem below his value, his wages, not to mention the potential transfer fee, could and should be used elsewhere in the squad and with their own transfer plans halted by a lack of income, a cut-price deal for Obaing would not be the end of the world.
His sale is not going to bring in a game-changing amount of money but his wages could go a long way to helping the Hammers secure a new capture and so they must look to seal his exit by any means necessary.
