West Ham fans rue failed £35m transfer as striker equals Niclas Fullkrug in 96 minutes, 'sigh'

Such is the feeling of eternal doom and gloom at West Ham United these days, fans can be forgiven for wondering if the universe is conspiring against them.

The club hired a proven, established Premier League operator to replace Graham Potter. And, only a few weeks into his tenure, Nuno Espirito Santo has seemingly ‘lost the plot’ already.

Ollie Scarles at right-back. Jean-Clair Todibo back in the team. Callum Wilson sat on the bench. Andy Irving anchoring the midfield. Nuno was supposed to be the sensible appointment. Has he already been driven to distraction by a club where common sense goes to die?

If so, this would surely be a new record.

True, Callum Wilson hasn’t exactly set the world alight at West Ham United. Young Callum Marshall, meanwhile, had only one cameo appearance under his belt before Brentford came to town on Monday evening.

But even a 33-year-old Wilson would have offered more up top than Jarrod Bowen, Crysencio Summerville or Lucas Paqueta did. Especially with West Ham seemingly intent on smacking high, hopeless balls into their vicinity.

A flummoxed Joe Cole feels West Ham are crying out for an Igor Thiago of their own. By opening the scoring at the London Stadium, Brentford’s Brazilian battering ram now has more Premier League goals this season alone than the perma-crocked Niclas Fullkrug has since the start of 2024/25.

The contrast between the two forward lines last night, meanwhile, could hardly have been more stark.

And the sight of Eli Junior Kroupi finding the net not once but twice for AFC Bournemouth in the very same weekend rather sums up the nature of things right now, at a club who could bet five pounds on the sky being blue before watching it turn bright green in front of their eyes.

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West Ham United fans express Eli Junior Kroupi regret as he stars for Bournemouth

According to reporter Pete O’Rourke, West Ham agreed a £35 million deal with Lorient to sign Kroupi on the final day of the winter window. Finding common ground on the structure of those payments proved to be an obstacle the Hammers could not overcome, though.

And, just to add insult to injury, top-flight rivals Bournemouth then snapped him up for a mere fraction of the fee the Hammers were prepared to invest in an 18-year-old who had played only 11 Ligue 1 matches.

Typical.

The one time West Ham commit themselves to going big on potential, they would see negotiations collapse at the eleventh hour.

Bournemouth snared Kroupi’s signature while paying a grand total of £12 million. Enabled by the fact that the Cherries’ owners, Black Knight Football and Entertainment, acquired a 33 per cent stake in Lorient back in 2023.

“Sigh. Every time we sign a striker they end up flopping. Whereas those we miss out on always seem to do great,” a fan wrote on X after watching Kroupi take his tally to three league goals from just 96 minutes of action with a brace in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace.

Kroupi, by the way, has as many top-flight strikes as Fullkrug has in 1,074 fewer minutes.

“[We didn’t sign him because] these strikers are young, and we only sign ones who are 30-plus with injury records,” another, more cynical supporter argues.

“Sullivan doesn’t want to spend on potential and would rather spend on over-the-hill forwards instead.”

“Sullivan never signs first-choices. He looks to see the better deal. Maybe better financially but not for the team.”

“He never had a choice in where he was going. That being said, even if he did, he would’ve probably chosen Bournemouth. We’re miles off them at the minute.”

“To be honest, he probably would’ve been awful at us.”

West Ham missed out on Emmanuel Emegha to Chelsea too

In Sullivan’s defence – and that is not a sentence we choose liberally – failing to tie up a deal for Kroupi is not something for which the blame can be laid solely at his door.

This would not be the only time West Ham fell foul of that multi-club model.

Chelsea signed Emmanuel Emegha from sister-club Strasbourg. Emegha, like Kroupi, was a forward with plenty of admirers in the East of London.

So, while multi-club ownership has its fair share of issues, Jamie Carragher probably had a point on Sky Sports. The Liverpool icon suggested that West Ham are trailing the likes of Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth because of a board and a structure which feels antiquated in the modern game.

“[How Sullivan runs West Ham] doesn’t feel a modern way of doing things and that’s where the frustration comes from in that support,” Carragher said.

“Look at other clubs who are not a patch on West Ham, and that’s not being disrespectful to Brentford and maybe a Brighton. We look at those two as forward-thinking, modern football clubs the way they run themselves.

“West Ham are a far bigger club than those two clubs I’ve mentioned. But the way they are run right now means they can’t actually compete with them on the pitch.”

Kroupi, one fan argues, is probably much better off on the South Coast anyway.

From Dean Huijsen to Ilya Zabarnyi, Milos Kerkez to Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo, Bournemouth are up there with the best of them when it comes to handling the development of raw talent.

“Kroupi has been afforded patience, allowed to make appearances off the bench and ease himself in,” a supporter points out.

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