The widely anticipated departure of technical director Tim Steidten from West Ham was officially confirmed earlier this week.

Prior to joining West Ham as the technical director in the summer of 2023, the 45 year old had held similar positions in Germany with Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen. His arrival at West Ham was seen as a major coup for the Club as he was widely regarded as a top operator in the football world.

The German was tasked with overseeing the Club’s player recruitment strategy. Steidten joined just weeks after West Ham lifted the Conference League trophy in Prague. With his expertise in scouting and securing talented players, along with his reputation as an excellent negotiator, it was hoped that Steidten could play a significant role in helping the Club build on winning their first major trophy in over 40 years.

Steidten’s time at West Ham split opinion among fans. Some were supportive of the 45 year old, believing he moved quickly and decisively to get signings over the line. Previously when David Sullivan took more of an active role in recruitment, negotiating deals seemed a long and drawn out process. Over the years, Hammers fans could recall countless transfer sagas where negotiations seemed to drag on throughout the summer window.

Hammers fans who were supportive of Steidten and his work would also point to some of the signings made under his watch. The arrivals of players such as Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez and Jean Clair Todibo were high profile additions for West Ham.

Mohammed Kudus had been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool before his move to West Ham. Similarly, Jean Clair Todibo had been previously linked with a move to Manchester United and was reportedly very close to joining Italian giants Juventus before making the move to East London. These transfers likely caught many fans of other clubs as well as those within the football world by surprise, as few would have expected players like Kudus and Todibo to end up at West Ham.

There are plenty of Hammers fans who saw things differently though. Many believed the German’s time at the Club was far from a success and struggled to see ways in which he had genuinely benefited West Ham. It’s fair to say that these fans would be justified in their concerns.

Steidten was banned from the Club’s training ground under two separate managers, David Moyes and Julen Lopetegui, indicating a fractured relationship behind the scenes, something that was reported by many media outlets. While some of Steidten’s signings can be considered successes, there are others that can be seen as significant misses.

Spending close to £30 million on Niclas Fullkrug, a striker who is soon to be 32, with a history of injury problems, who has spent much of his debut season in England injured, was an ill advised move. Similarly, the signing of Konstantinos Mavropanos, who has struggled for form since joining West Ham, and is considered by many fans as not good enough to be a part of West Ham’s backline, can also be seen as a questionable investment.

Question marks over recruitment under Steidten, along with Graham Potter bringing in Kyle Macaulay as head of recruitment, someone he had worked alongside in previous jobs, led to Steidten having no involvement in the January transfer window. Even before this point, it had been expected for some time that the German would leave West Ham, so his eventual departure came as little surprise when it was officially announced.

With Steidten moving on to pastures new and a new structure in place at the Club regarding player recruitment following the appointment of Macaulay and various suggestions that David Sullivan will take a more active role in transfers, it will be interesting to see how future transfer windows unfold for West Ham. Many will be keeping a close eye on the Club’s transfer dealings come the summer window, especially with a number of areas of the squad needing strengthening.