€25m transfer fee from West Ham would help club ‘in every way’ – Losing player a painful necessity
In May, West Ham United were linked with a move for Ibrahim Maza. The story then went quiet over the summer window, before the Hammers were again dragged in during September.
At that time, the London club were thrown in with the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford when it came to clubs interested in the 18-year-old Hertha Berlin player.
The Hammers have been dragged back in to the picture for the attacker, via claims in the English media this week.
Bild have picked up on those claims and whilst the German newspaper make absolutely no attempt to back the rumour up, they do give Hertha Berlin’s take on the situation.
Hertha Berlin are currently eighth in Bundesliga 2, which obviously isn’t where they want to be. Bild explain that losing Maza would be a ‘bitter’ blow for the German club, but it would help them ‘in every way’ off the pitch if they could sell him to West Ham for the rumoured €25m.
Such a figure would make Maza the second biggest exit ever for Hertha Berlin, which would suggest the fee looks on the large side.
The player has scored four goals and provided two assists so far this season, playing in an attacking midfield role. Maza is clearly a long way from being at the level West Ham need, so the fee would be very questionable and it’s likely a loan would be needed to get him up to speed.
Given all of that, the rumour is almost certainly exaggerated, but the German media make it clear a deal is there to be done should West Ham or anyone else truly desire it.
Aston Villa face Club Brugge on Wednesday evening in the Champions League, with the Premier League club looking to continue their excellent start to the competition.
Unai Emery’s side are currently top of the table in UEFA’s elite competition, with three wins from three matches. They’ve managed to beat Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna and make themselves a genuinely respected team on the European circuit.
Club Brugge, therefore, shouldn’t present too daunting a task, but Aston Villa’s Premier league form hasn’t been what it was and there’ll be an eagerness to use the match to put things right.
Aston Villa playing a Belgian team leads the country’s media to look for people to comment on the Birmingham club, and it can be no surprise that Luc Nilis has surfaced.
