West Ham bringing in Bafetimbi Gomis to replace duo makes no sense

As silly season approaches its final days, there was still time for the newspapers to be linking another club to a deal that would simply make no sense for any of the parties involved.

Reports on Thursday are suggesting that West Ham are in talks regarding a one-in-two-out swoop, that would cause a big shake up to their attacking ranks.

Various outlets are reporting that Chelsea are preparing a £20m double move for both Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia, two of the key protagonists behind the Hammers’ rather successful campaign.

Moving both these players on would leave the east Londoners back to square one, with a huge portion of flair and vibrancy removed from their options.

Lose both of these and a return to the exaggerated long-ball antics that saw many Hammers fans become disenfranchised with the football Sam Allardyce was encouraging at the Boleyn is a potential consequence.

The strike partnership the pair formed at the start of the campaign brought a new lease of life to the capital club, the pair bagging nine goals between them in the first 10 games of the season that lifted the club up to fifth in the table.

What’s more, how much business sense would it make to sell the pair to Chelsea for £20m?

With Enner Valencia reportedly costing the Hammers £12.5m and Sakho the bargain of the pair coming in at around £3.5m, the £4m profit (at most) they stand to make having shown this much encouragement would be miserly.

And frankly, as good as the pair have been in the East End, how much they can improve the imperious-looking league leaders is questionable.

But the bigger problem would be with who the papers are mooting as one of the potential replacements.

The Daily Mail today claims that Allardyce is considering an £8m bid for Swansea’s Bafetimbi Gombis.

Swansea boss Garry Monk has repeatedly stated that the Frenchman will not be leaving the Liberty Stadium any time soon, with the Welsh club short on attacking options since Wilfried Bony’s exit.

The former Lyon man has hardly upturned many trees since he arrived on these shores, scoring just one Premier League goal in over 11 hours of game-time.

West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold are renowned for liking a bargain, so paying £8m for a player that was available on a Free in the summer looks unlikely.

For the Hammers, Tuesday February 3 probably couldn’t come quick enough, with their Premier League and FA Cup forays starting to pick up again after a brief lull in mid-season.

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