Links between West Ham United and Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou are nonsense, as reported by football.london journalist Sam Inkersole.
What’s the story?
German outlet Kicker had beeen reporting that the Hammers wanted the 34-year-old and that he was keen to make the move to London Stadium.
This brought about amusement from supporters of other clubs, who reacted when Get German Football News tweeted about it.
However, Inkersole has now suggested that the move is complete nonsense, with the Ivorian set to stay in Berlin.
Good news
This has to be seen as a positive sign for the Hammers, as a move for the former Chelsea man would have been shocking recruitment.
Kalou has been a sporadic figure at Hertha Berlin this campaign, managing just one Bundesliga start and four substitute appearances.
He has scored a goal, in a 3-2 win against Hoffenheim, but struggles to have any real impact on matches, making 0.2 key passes and 0.2 dribbles per game, while committing 0.8 fouls.
It says a lot that his two DFB Pokal appearances mean he has more starts in the cup than the league, but aside from all of that, his age alone makes him an unattractive prospect.
David Moyes was recently quoted in The Guardian as saying: “I want to stop the idea that always what we’re doing is just buying someone to fill the gap.”
“I want it to be the vision for the club that we are looking to bring in young, attractive and hungry players who are saying: ‘We are going to make West Ham better.’ Whatever is said in the accounts, I am telling you what my vision is. I think if I get given the opportunity to do that, I will turn it around.”
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Signing Kalou would have completely gone against that, so it is a relief that the report is now deemed to have been nonsense.
Meanwhile, West Ham can finally alleviate some of the pressure on Mark Noble’s shoulders.