West Ham United have walked away from their pursuit of Nantes captain Valentin Rongier due to the French club’s ‘excessive’ valuation, but there’s a good reason why fans can’t be disappointed going into the 2019-20 season.
According to France Football, cited by Sport Witness, the Hammers were initially interested in Marseille midfielder Morgan Samson but moved onto Rongier and ‘quickly withdrew themselves.’
The 24-year-old has become an influential defensive midfielder in Ligue 1, scoring four goals and contributing six assists in 36 league games last season, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be moving to the London Stadium anytime soon.
Read West Ham verdict
If West Ham baulked at the fee and quickly turned away from a deal, the club can’t be overly desperate for a new midfielder and that’s not only a positive but also understandable.
The capture of Pablo Fornals must be seen as a coup; he can not only play in attacking midfield but also as the more advanced of a midfield pivot. Mark Noble may not be able to feature week-in-week-out this term, so how about a midfield two of Declan Rice and Fornals to make the mouth water.
Jack Wilshere could genuinely be like a new signing if he stays fit for the whole campaign, but if he can’t Josh Cullen is an exciting talent bound to be given a chance by Manuel Pellegrini too.
With Fornals and Sebastien Haller massively increasing the Hammers’ star power, there is plenty for supporters to be optimistic about and the club should really be aiming for a top-half finish at the least.
