So technical director Tim Steidten has officially left West Ham to euphemistically, "pursue new opportunities." Graham Potter has brought in his own recruitment man in Kyle Macaulay.
What will not have impressed David Sullivan and Karren Brady will have been Steidten's role in recruiting Julen Lopetegui. It's also possible that David Moyes might have stayed had West Ham not appointed a technical director. Moyes was all set to sign a new contract in December 2023 with the club sixth in the Premier League. Yet something changed and the season imploded with the club approaching Lopetegui while Moyes was still in charge.
Steidten's role in recruitment has been mixed since he arrived in the summer of 2023. The decent to good buys have included Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Kudus and Wan-Bissaka. The bad deals have been Dinos Mavropanos, Kalvin Phillips, Guido Rodriguez, Niclas Fullkrug (in terms of age and injuries rather than ability), Luis Guilherme (who might develop but was overpriced) and probably Soler. While the jury remains out on Summerville, Kilman and Todibo. It could also be argued that a lot of good players departed who might have had something more to offer, such as Fornals, Benrahma, Aguerd, Kehrer and Ward-Prowse (who has now returned).
Its not an overly impressive record, though Steidten undoubtedly recruited well at German champions Bayer Leverkusen. But for whatever reason he found the Premier League a much harder proposition.
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