Speaking to Football Insider, a West Ham United source has claimed that David Moyes has deemed Andriy Yarmolenko surplus to requirements, coming just after the sale of Felipe Anderson.
The Lowdown: West Ham exodus…?
Anderson completed his return to Lazio on Friday after West Ham confirmed his departure, with the Brazilian becoming yet another senior Irons player to leave this summer.
Fabian Balbuena also moved on upon the expiry of his contract, and little to no money has been recuperated from these east London departures.
While West Ham refuse to disclose Anderson’s sale fee, he has reportedly left for around €3m (£2.6m) with a 50% sell-on clause, according to Sky Italy.
The Latest: Source drops Yarmolenko claim…
According to a West Ham source, speaking to Football Insider, the club have now opened talks with Fenerbahce to offload Yarmolenko after ‘slashing his asking price’.
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The Hammers have given the Istanbul club the ‘green light’ to pursue the Ukranian after Moyes deemed him surplus to requirements. West Ham are also keen to get him off the wage bill and save money amid the pandemic-driven financial crisis impacting clubs up and down the country.
However, GSB are apparently willing to sell the 32-year-old for just £2m, a similar initial fee to Anderson, despite Yarmolenko being one of Ukraine’s standout players at Euro 2020.
The Verdict: Big mistake…
Offloading the £18m arrival for that meagre sum would certainly come as another big blunder by West Ham as they also seek to add much-needed additions to Moyes’ squad.
Yarmolenko could arguably command a much larger fee after his impressive Euro 2020 campaign, where he scored two goals and set up two more in five appearances as Ukraine reached the quarter-finals (uefa.com).
Getting the £115,000-per-week ace off West Ham’s salary bill is perhaps imperative, but selling him for a measly £2m could be another own goal by the east London club, especially with the added commitment of Europa League fixtures to come in 2021/22.
In other news: West Ham favourites to sign ‘huge’ 29-goal striker amid talks, he is destined to leave this summer – find out more here.
