West Ham United have not always had the best of luck, or judgement perhaps, with their dealings in the transfer market over the years.
Who are West Ham's biggest signings?
The Hammers have not been afraid to splash out the cash to bolster their squad, particularly over the last five years or so, in an attempt to push on in the Premier League.
Player
Fee paid
Sebastien Haller
£43m
Mohammed Kudus
£37m
Lucas Paqueta
£37m
Edson Alvarez
£32.7m
Felipe Anderson
£32.7m
Fees via Transfermarkt.
Haller and Anderson, of the five most-expensive signings in the club's history as shown above, did not enjoy the best of times at the London Stadium and David Moyes could be on course to oversee another expensive disaster with Pablo Fornals.
The former Villarreal whiz, Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal, Michail Antonio, and Aaron Cresswell are among the players who are out of contract next summer and will be free to leave for £0.
What's the latest on Pablo Fornals' future?
It was recently reported that Spanish side Sevilla are eyeing up a swoop to sign Fornals from the Hammers as their sporting director Victor Orta, who was previously at Leeds United in England, is keen to secure a deal for him in 2024.
The report stated that the attacking midfielder is free to speak with other clubs from January onwards and that a move to Sevilla would be among his preferences if the option arises.
He is allowed to sign a pre-contract with another team in January ahead of a free transfer next summer due to his expiring contract, which is why West Ham must get him to put pen to paper on an extension.
Football Insider claimed, prior to the news of Sevilla's interest, that the Hammers are planning to sit down with Fornals, along with Coufal and Soucek, to discuss a possible contract extension.
They also revealed that teams from Saudi Arabia were showing an interest in the ace, although nothing came of that before the Saudi Pro League transfer deadline earlier this month.
How much did West Ham pay for Pablo Fornals?
In the summer of 2019, West Ham completed the signing of the then-23-year-old wizard from Spanish side Villarreal for a reported fee of £24m, which made him the second-most expensive player in the club's history – behind Felipe Anderson at £33.5m – at the time.
Fornals arrived at the London Stadium after two impressive campaigns in LaLiga, following on from his move to the club from Malaga in 2017.
The creative Spaniard enjoyed a fantastic 2017/18 campaign with Villarreal as he racked up an outstanding 12 assists and created 15 'big chances' for his teammates across 30 league starts, to go along with three goals, as per Sofascore.
His teammates then let him down throughout the 2018/19 season as the technical ace produced ten 'big chances' for his fellow attackers over 28 LaLiga starts and was only rewarded with three assists. This suggests that his teammates did not make the most of the opportunities that he created for them.
The talented whiz's performances were impressive enough to convince West Ham and then-manager Manuel Pellegrini to splash out £24m to secure his services.
How well has Fornals performed for West Ham?
Fornals has been a solid performer for the Hammers over the years as he has racked up 184 appearances in all competitions and played 141 times in the Premier League to date.
He has featured in at least 32 top-flight matches in all four of his seasons with the club so far, which speaks to his reliability in terms of his performance level and durability. Managers have rarely not selected him to play, whether that is from the bench or within the starting XI, and he has not had any major injury lay-offs.
His best season in a West Ham shirt to date arguably came during the 2021/22 campaign. The Spanish maestro provided a consistent creative threat and added goals to his game as he delivered brilliant Premier League performers week-in-week-out.
Fornals averaged an excellent Sofascore rating of 6.94 across 36 league appearances for the club and contributed with six goals and ten 'big chances' created from midfield. He also showcased his defensive quality with 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game to win the ball back for his side.
The former Villarreal star, who was once dubbed "unbelievable" by journalist Karl Matchett, was the team's outstanding creator as he averaged 1.3 key passes per match throughout the season, which none of his teammates were able to better.
More recently, Fornals caught the eye in the Europa Conference League last term as the club went on to win the competition. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.13 over 12 appearances as he scored three goals and created two 'big chances' from the middle of the park.
What's next for Fornals?
The report of Sevilla's interest and the player potentially being keen on the move is worrying for West Ham as it suggests that there is chance that he will sign a pre-contract with the Spanish team to join them for nothing next summer.
This would mean that the Hammers would not get back a single penny of the £24m that they initially paid to secure his signature back in 2019, which would be a disaster when you consider that he will be 28 and in his prime years ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
FootballTransfers currently has his Expected Transfer Value at €22.2m (£19.1m) and this is an indication of the kind of fee that the club are set to miss out on if they do not tie him down to an extension.
Moyes and West Ham have allowed him to enter the final 12 months of his contract before sitting down to have talks over a new deal, as per the aforementioned Football Insider report, and this has allowed Sevilla, and potentially other teams, to show an interest and possibly sway Fornals' thinking.
The situation should have been dealt with before the recent summer transfer window as they could have been able to cash in on him this year if he refused to put pen to paper on an extension.
Therefore, the Hammers are currently on course for a howler with the Spanish magician unless they are able to convince him to turn down Sevilla and remain at the London Stadium beyond the end of this season.
