During the England defeat to Iceland, there was news that a 38 million Euro bid by Crystal Palace had not only been made for Batshuayi, but accepted as well. This story came from the well respected L’Equipe and soon it was made known that the footballer’s agent had confirmed this and that, as well as the fee, there were also some add ons and a future percentage of a sale, should the Eagles sell him. If you read my previous column on The West Ham Way, you will know that I am fortunate to know a Palace fan, and through his contacts he is lead to believe that the bid is true. At the same time I spoke with a well known and respected journalist, who is also lead to believe that Palace have been granted permission to chat with the Belgian.
It has been well reported everywhere that Marseille are under pressure to raise funds and it is no secret David Sullivan looked at possibly purchasing the French club. We have always been interested in Michy and Exwhuemployee had stated until recently, he was the number one target. The club have always been looking at their options and until now, we have had no concrete competition for this man, unlike Lacazette, and we have been able to be patient but I, and am sure Exwhuemployee will agree with me, expect the club to make their move and not allow Crystal Palace to have a free run at him. Our owners are well clued up on the finances at Marseille and at the end of the day, they are shrewd businessmen and it is understandable they had hoped and tried to get this man for cheaper than the Crystal Palace bid and like with Sam Byram in January, the club were happy to play the waiting game as they knew where the stood on Batshuayi as they looked at alternatives, the same as the majority of clubs do when seeking a player for a specific position.
It is worth noting that West Ham United have tried to respect the fact that players are on international duty (well not all players are now) and for this reason, to be considerate and allow them to concentrate on Euro 2016 (or Copa America) plus the fact that the transfer window does not open until Friday anyway, but in this instance, with the Palace bid and the unique situation OM find themselves in financially, despite being on a family holiday, I expect news of us lodging a bid similar to the Eagles’ to reach us very soon and it will be reported here on the The West Ham Way as soon as we hear of it.
It can be frustrating as fans, but we have to have faith in this board and the player recruitment team at our club.
I trust the board after all they got us this far