Attitudes and perception mean a lot in football. Some teams can justifiably be described as “selling clubs” while others look to show more ambition.

Of course, you have to keep the club on a sound financial footing, and selling players in order to reinvest in others is all part of the game, but things can quickly turn sour if recruitment decisions begin to go awry.

You only have to look at Southampton and how they have been stripped bare by Liverpool and other teams over the years to see where selling your best players can get you.

They have struggled against relegation for two seasons in a row, following some excellent top half finishes before that. Poor managerial appointments have played a role in that, but the quality of players in their squad is demonstrably far worse than a few years ago.

West Ham’s board could easily have been accused of a similar lack of ambition, up until last summer. Rather than a club battling against relegation, seemingly content to avoid trouble once again by keeping David Moyes, they decided to change tack.

The appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as manager and Mario Husillos as Director of Football have coincided with an attitude shift at the club.

Husillos clearly knows how to run a big club effectively, and he has gone about acquiring talent in a way that has changed perceptions, both in terms of how other clubs see the Hammers, as well as how attractive they are to potential signings.

Their attitude towards Manchester United’s pursuit of defender Issa Diop is a case in point. Rather than simply accept a £15m-£20m profit on a player they bought only a year ago, the Irons are holding firm.

United may have a significant financial advantage but they are not as attractive as they once were. Back in the Europa League next season, and with challenges on and off the pitch, they are a club in transition.

Diop is apparently ready to stay put, with ambitions of playing in the Champions League in the future, and that gives Husillos a massive bargaining chip. West Ham don’t need to sell, and the player isn’t forcing through a move.

Like Leicester City, who drive a hard bargain for their players, the Hammers have opted not to be pushed around. They are not a selling club and every team in the Premier League will now know this.

For players interested in coming to London Stadium, it demonstrates the club’s ambitions, and it helps keep those already here, giving Pellegrini the stability to keep the same group together in order to progress on the pitch.