Should Hammers target British signings?
- Published
Our chief football news reporter Simon Stone has been taking your questions.
Mart asked: Ferguson looks like an injury waiting to happen - like Carroll, Ashton, etc. Do you think a drive to recruit British players - Abraham, Walker Peters, Harwood-Bellis - to name a few, is the way forward?
Simon: Hiya Mart. Well, I know Ferguson isn't British but he is certainly well versed in what it takes to make an impact in the Premier League. I do see the value in looking at the Premier League and the Championship because there is no bedding in time. The balance to that is that the transfer fees are often higher. West Ham paid £18m for Jarrod Bowen when they signed him from Hull five years ago. I suspect it would cost double that for a player with a similar background now. Bowen clearly worked but there are no guarantees. Compare that to the £13m they committed to Tomas Soucek in the same window. Soucek was already an established international with experience of playing in Europe. Buying British sounds good. But it is expensive.
