West Ham United confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in the Premier League on Thursday afternoon when they confirmed that head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay had followed Graham Potter out the door.
Potter’s long-serving right-hand man – the duo worked together at Ostersunds, Swansea City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea – always looked vulnerable when the Batman to his Robin was dismissed by the Hammers board late last month.
Especially once it became apparent that Nuno Espirito Santo would seize control of recruitment, alongside super-agent Jorge Mendes, at the London Stadium.
And it is surely no coincidence that two Nuno favourites are already West Ham targets ahead of the January window.
Chris Wood could reunite with his ex-Nottingham Forest boss after hitting 20 Premier League goals in 2025/26. Fulham speedster Adama Traore, one of Nuno’s success stories at Wolves, is another who may be wearing claret and blue come the New Year.
As for Macaulay, well, his departure may now bring an end to West Ham United’s interest in the likes of Raphael Onyedika, Franculino Dju and Idrissa Gueye. Three players he personally sounded out as potential Hammers signings.
Kyle Macaulay wanted Raphael Onyedika at West Ham United
Hammers News were informed at the beginning of the summer, by chief football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that Macaulay wanted Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika to join in a potential £20 million deal.
There was a brief spell, too, when a deal looked very much on the cards.
A source from the Stellar agency told Africa Foot that Onyedika was keen on a Premier League switch. More so, even, than a move to AC Milan. Personal terms were not expected to be an issue.
As the summer developed though, Potter and co obviously decided that a new goalkeeper and a new left-back was the priority, bringing in Mads Hermansen and Malick Diouf in July. By August, Onyedika had slipped behind Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa in the pecking order of targets.
Hammers News can also confirm that Macaulay identified Midtjylland striker Franculino Dju, as well, alongside a host of talented, up and coming forwards. The former Chelsea scouting chief instructed the Hammers to keep tabs on Senegal starlet Idrissa Gueye, too, when he was still a Metz player.
It is not impossible that Dju, Gueye or Onyedika end up at the London Stadium at some point later down the line. But with Macaulay understood to have been the driving force behind the interest in all three, a new recruitment approach partly devised by Nuno and Mendes should bring with it a new, revised list of targets.
Franculino Dju and Idrissa Gueye were Macaulay targets too
According to Danish publication Bold, West Ham offered £13 million for Franculino Dju over the summer. He has only scored one goal in ten games since then, however, and started on the bench during Midtjylland’s stunning 3-2 win away at Nottingham Forest in the Europa League.
Yet, Dju still looks destined to follow in the footsteps of Mohammed Kudus at some point in the near future. Like the former London Stadium favourite, Guinea Bissau attacker Dju has made his name in Danish football after arriving in Europe from Africa.
Bayern Munich and even European champions Paris Saint-Germain have been linked of late.
Serie A outfit Udinese beat West Ham to Idrissa Gueye
Idrissa Gueye ended up leaving Metz for Udinese, meanwhile. A few days later, West Ham’s interest in Gueye was confirmed by Gianluca Nani, the former Upton Park technical director who now works in a major behind-the-scenes role at the Serie A outfit.
“One of our goals is to continue investing in young players, as is the club’s hallmark, pairing them with more ready players,” Nani said after Udinese also snapped up Scottish wonderkid Lennon Miller from Motherwell.
“Gueye is a boy with the ‘X factor’. Another classic Udinese move, given that he was being followed by clubs like Manchester City, West Ham, and Borussia Dortmund.”
Via a statement posted by the club’s official website, Macaulay’s exit was announced with decidedly little fanfare.
“West Ham United can confirm that Head of Recruitment Kyle Macaulay has left the club. Kyle arrived at West Ham United in January as part of the backroom staff under previous men’s head coach Graham Potter.
“We would like to thank Kyle for his dedication and hard work and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
