David Ornstein is convinced that West Ham United will do business in the January transfer window. He is less convinced, though, about the potential of Ivan Toney, Joshua Zirkzee or Kobbie Mainoo arriving at the London Stadium.
Carlton Cole summed up the feelings of most Hammers supporters as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Leeds on Friday night.
‘January,’ former striker Cole said, ‘cannot come soon enough’.
One suspects that the man in charge of West Ham United these days would find himself agreeing pretty emphatically with that point. Hammers News have been informed, by chief football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that Nuno has already highlighted an issue in the centre-forward department.
Though you do not need a UEFA-A license to realise that Niclas Fullkrug is all at sea in the Premier League. Or that having a 33-year-old Callum Wilson and an unproven Callum Marshall as your back-ups is asking for trouble.
Bailey reveals that West Ham have held talks with Real Madrid regarding potential loan deals for young duo Endrick and Gonzalo Garcia.
If the Hammers elect for a more experienced, perhaps low-risk option, Brentford icon Ivan Toney and Manchester United benchwarmer Joshua Zirkzee could enter the fray.
But speaking to NBC Sports on Friday, one of the most respected and reliable reporters in the UK media – David Ornstein – has played down the potential of Toney or Zirkzee ending the January window in a claret and blue jersey.
David Ornstein plays down West Ham United signing Ivan Toney or Joshua Zirkzee
A club source has already told Hammers News that Ivan Toney is unlikely to re-join the Premier League in early-2026. Not even with a World Cup place on the line.
Furthermore, Ruben Amorim plans to keep Joshua Zirkzee at Old Trafford for the foreseeable future. The same goes for Kobbie Mainoo, amid claims that West Ham could target Manchester United’s academy graduate in an attempt to beef up a drastically underperforming midfield.
Ornstein reveals that unpopular chairman David Sullivan will still have a key role to play in the club’s recruitment plans. But Nuno will have a say in West Ham’s January plans too, presumably alongside his extremely well-connected agent, Jorge Mendes.
“January, that transfer window is going to be led, I’m told, by David Sullivan alongside Nuno Espirito Santo, tapping into West Ham’s existing recruitment staff,” says Ornstein. “They are interviewing for a new head of recruitment but it doesn’t sound like there is anything imminent on that front.
“I am told by sources at the club that they are looking to bring in a few new players. A forward would surely be on the agenda, but not Ivan Toney. Other players are linked with them, Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee at Manchester United.
“But I think it’s a pretty remote chance [that the Hammers get either of them]. We don’t even know if they will be leaving Old Trafford.
“[West Ham] are going to make decisions on the big recruitment targets in mid-December, once Nuno has had a bit of time to settle in.”
Ornstein slams Tim Steidten and Kyle Macaulay missteps
In truth, the Hammers are still paying the price for the ill-fated Tim Steidten era.
Steidten pushed for Niclas Fullkrug’s signing – a deal which looks more disastrous with every injury blow the German suffers. It was on his watch, meanwhile, that West Ham wasted eye-watering fees on Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, James Ward-Prowse and Luis Guilherme.
Former head of recruitment, and Steidten’s de-facto successor, Kyle Macaulay left alongside Graham Potter a few weeks ago.
“When you look at the Graham Potter and even the [Julen] Lopetegui eras, they were fairly disastrous, underlined by a lot of muddled thinking around recruitment and the recruitment work itself,” Ornstein explains.
“They had a sporting director in Tim Steidten, he spent a huge amount of money. He then left. With Potter came Kyle Macaulay as Head of Recruitment, and they bought yet more players who haven’t worked thus far.
“[Mads] Hermansen, Fullkrug, Kilman at great expense, Todibo, nowhere near the level he was renowned for. And Callum Wilson has barely played at all.”
