Reliable West Ham insider Claret & Hugh claimed that the Irons could be set to incur a substantial loss should they sell both Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller.
Both players arrived in east London for substantial fees, Anderson from Lazio for an initial £33.5m and Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt for a club record £45m – but their futures in the capital now look rather uncertain under David Moyes.
The Brazilian winger is currently struggling to make an impact on loan at FC Porto, while the 26-year-old striker has failed to hold down a regular place in the team since his arrival 18 months ago.
Last season, the attacking pair amassed 57 Premier League outings combined and contributed towards just 13 goals between them.
With an expenditure of nearly £80m on the two players, it seems unlikely even half of that amount would be recouped if a decision was made to cut their losses in a bitter blow for the owners.
According to Claret & Hugh, West Ham “look certain to lose a load of dough on Haller and of course Anderson should he finally be sold but they look to me as if they are gonna have to swallow it”.
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If the Irons are going to make waves in the transfer market moving forwards, some of the squad’s deadwood will have to be moved on beforehand.
Unfortunately for Anderson, it seems his ship as a Hammer may well have sailed; and barring a remarkable transformation in form during his spell in Portugal, his permanent departure seems almost inevitable.
However, Haller definitely still has the chance to forge a crucial role for himself at the London Stadium. Having scored the winner recently against Sheffield United, it seemed the Ivorian was finally ready to come good after many false dawns.
After being immediately dropped as a half-fit Michail Antonio returned to the side, the powerful target man put in one of his all-too-familiar disappointing shifts against Manchester United in the Irons’ last game, a sad summary of his career in claret and blue to date.
