I was a little disappointed yesterday to hear that Manchester United full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka had rejected the chance to join West Ham.
It now appears that the deal for Wan-Bissaka could be back on, but only because Manchester United will help sweeten the deal in order for him to leave.
Whilst I have been highly critical of our club for not paying our Academy graduates the going rate, there is little doubt that we pay significant wages to senior players. In many respects, it could be argued that West Ham pays too much money, which has often resulted in poor returns.
The most recent example is Danny Ings, who earns north of £80k per week for not doing very much at all. Ings is not an exceptional case either; West Ham were more than happy to pay former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez almost £140k per week too.
Wan-Bissaka’s Lingard example
He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last player who will have to make that decision and many get it wrong. When I consider AWB’s situation, a certain Jesse Lingard springs to mind. Lingard, of course, rejected the Hammers’ offer of £125k per week to sign a one-year deal at Nottingham Forest for £10m.
Perhaps that won’t be Wan-Bissaka’s fate, and after all, he’s a big boy who’s perfectly capable of making his own decisions. However, I do wonder if he finds himself out of favour at Old Trafford in January, we might see a situation where recent history repeats itself.
