West Ham fans have every right to be furious
At this point, we may have to acknowledge that West Ham manager Slaven Bilic is not the best judge of talent in the Premier League. That’s the only possible explanation for his ridiculous decision to snub Renato Sanches on Deadline Day.
The club’s joint-chairman, David Sullivan, has gone on record as saying that Bilic turned down the chance to sign the Portuguese starlet on loan before Sanches cast his lot with Swansea. The charismatic manager told higher-ups at West Ham that he was satisfied with the talent he already had on hand.
To put it mildly, that was a confounding decision. West Ham currently occupy the Premier League’s basement with a point total of zero. What’s worse, the Hammers have a hideous goal difference of -8 in their opening three matches. Bilic’s club have been awful to start the campaign.
While I’m not the biggest believer in Sanches’ talent (note, Bayern Munich aren’t either), it’s insane to say he wouldn’t help West Ham. He would only need to knock the likes of Mark Noble or young Declan Rice out of Bilic’s starting XI. Noble has been poor for over a year now and Rice isn’t ready for regular Premier League football. Sanches would have walked into Bilic’s starting XI immediately.
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Some might applaud Bilic for thinking about developing his squad for the long haul, but his job is in serious jeopardy. His focus should be trying to lift the Hammers out of the bottom of the Premier League standings before the axe falls on his reign in charge of the club.
Sanches is exactly the sort of player that could have injected much-needed life into Bilic’s moribund squad. His talent is undeniable. At the very least, he could have given the West Ham a fan base a reason for hope. It’s hard to calculate just how much that could’ve helped the squad.
Instead, Bilic’s error was compounded by the fact that Sanches moved to a Premier League rival. West Ham would like to think they’re superior to Swansea, but both clubs could easily find themselves fighting relegation down the stretch of the 2017-18 campaign. If Sanches can earn the Swans a few valuable points it could mean the end of West Ham’s time in England’s top flight.
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Whether Slaven Bilic is too proud or too poor a judge of talent to welcome Renato Sanches into his squad it could be his undoing at West Ham. As it stands currently, it represents the worst decision of the summer transfer window.