Good morning to all.
A very quick Christmas Eve blog for you. There really isn’t much beyond what we got from the coach’s press conference on Thursday.
I enjoyed this quote from David Moyes from his own press when asked if now, after the World Cup break and the period without competitive football, is the best time for West Ham to take on Arsenal. He said:
“I think the best time to play for Arsenal was about three years ago… since Mikel arrived he has done a brilliant job!”
The festive schedule kicks off on Monday against the Hammers, before we take on Brighton on New Year’s Eve. After that it’s Newcastle, followed by an FA Cup tie against Oxford United, then we face a north London derby away from home and Man Utd at home a week later. It’s not necessarily the most eventful run I’ve seen during this period of the season, but there are some very tough games.
On the transfer front, he seems calm, but there is a report seeking a loan deal for Atlético Madrid striker Joao Félix. He would reportedly require a loan fee of around £8m, as well as paying the player’s salary in full. Those salaries, according to the website you believe in when you google ‘joao felix salary’, range from €250,000 a week to €280,000 a week. Which would mean, if they brought it in the first week of January, a total outlay of about 13 million euros.
Which sounds like a lot of money. On the other hand, if their goals keep you in the title race, they’ll end up being small potatoes. Maybe he’s been at the wrong club all along, because he’s clearly a talent, but his numbers at Atletico Madrid aren’t very good and for that amount of money it would be an important bet. Also, the price of lending players these days is a bit mental. We threw £5m in total on the Denis Suarez deal all those Januarys ago, and I remember we were linked with Ivan Perisic and Inter were quoting us a fee of £6m + wages. Which would explain why that didn’t happen, although later I think we need to take into account the player’s dubious decision-making based on where he is now.
However, on the other hand, depending on how many hands you have at the moment, we saw a highly rated player at a big club come on loan in January 2021, and that player became our club captain. This one, however, I just can’t see. I suspect that our need for a forwarder is a good way for the agent, through his best friend in the media, to advertise his client’s availability. Still, if Arteta and Edu decided it was worth a shot, you’d have to trust their judgment on this point.
Right, that’s all for now. Be sure to join us a bit later this morning on Patreon for our West Ham preview podcast.
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Whatever you do this festive period, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I wish you the best, however you do it. I hope you can be with your friends, family, and loved ones this time of year, because when it comes down to it, that’s what matters most. May you and yours have peace, health and happiness.
Merry Christmas from all of us here at Arseblog, and from Archer and Lana (pictured below, who demonstrate exactly how you should spend the next few days if you can).
Andrew
