West Ham turned down the chance to sign Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek after being offered him before the transfer deadline, according to reports in England.
The Hammers were said to be unwilling to pay the £10m that would have been needed to secure the 25-year-old on loan for the rest of the season.
While fans on Twitter feel Loftus-Cheek would have been a good addition to the squad, most accept that the cost of the move was simply too much:
That ridiculous amounts of money for a loan, his value must only be £15-£20 mil
— Tomo (@marktho35631130) August 30, 2021
Yeah 10m for a loan is just silly
— Rob Waldon WHUFC #GSBOUT (@RobWaldon) August 30, 2021
His wage is stupidly high as well. Good player on his day, but very costly if he doesn’t perform
— James (@Terran__Warrior) August 30, 2021
The main reason I didn’t want it to happen. Chelsea charge waaaaayyyyy too much for loan fees. Plus his wages are high I imagine
— Michael ⚒ Zdenek (@MichaelZdenek) August 30, 2021
Surely if he wanted to leave or go out on loan surely the player has to sit up & say look come on, your pricing me out of a move etc??
— ⚽️Stephen???????Smith⚒ (@StephenJESmith) August 30, 2021
The wages. Loan fee and agent fees all come to £10m.
— Kenny Richards (@klrgnas2812) August 30, 2021
West Ham eventually sealed a deal for Spartak Moscow’s Alex Kral on loan instead, while Loftus-Cheek remained at Stamford Bridge.
The £10m is thought to have included the loan fee, wages and agent fees but, even so, that would have been way too much to pay for a player who has struggled for form and fitness over the past couple of seasons. Whether a move for the player will be revisited in the future, though, remains to be seen.
