Spanish club Sevilla ‘regret’ the fact they rejected a West Ham proposal to sign Youssef En-Nesyri in the summer, according to a report.
En-Nesyri was on the radar of several Premier League clubs following his great form during the 2020-21 campaign. He managed 24 goals in 52 matches, with 18 of those strikes coming in La Liga.
The centre-forward began the subsequent campaign well too, netting three goals in his first six outings. However, he was then affected by injury problems which prevented him from repeating his previous season’s tally.
Nevertheless, West Ham reportedly made a bid for En-Nesyri in January. This was rejected by Sevilla as they viewed him as an important first-team player then.
As per Sport Witness, who cite reports coming out of Spain, David Moyes’ side made a similar offer for En-Nesyri this summer.
It came in at £34.2million (€40m). Despite this being a potentially significant outlay from West Ham, Sevilla did not accept.
The La Liga outfit are now looking back at the terms and ‘regretting’ the fact they pushed it back.
En-Nesyri managed just two goals after returning from injury last season, while he is also struggling for form this term.
Sevilla ‘grow tired’ of Youssef En-Nesyri
He is yet to find the back of the net after appearing in four games. Sevilla have ‘grown tired of him’ as he continues to miss big chances. This is part of the reason why they sit in 17th place, with just one point.
En-Nesyri’s form is one of the main sources of anger among Sevilla supporters, who feel the club should have accepted West Ham’s bid. Receiving just over £34m would have allowed them to bring in a different striker and potentially improve other positions as well.
The Moroccan is ‘far from the level’ fans, as well as club chiefs, expect him to be at right now. To make things worse for the club, director of football Monchi insists there is no longer any transfer interest in En-Nesyri.
This means Sevilla will have to put up with the 25-year-old for the foreseeable future as he aims to get back to his best.
En-Nesyri was one of West Ham’s top targets as they tried to bring in striker competition for Michail Antonio.
In the end, the Hammers had to wait until late July to improve the position. This is when they landed Italy international Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo.
The Rome-born star is yet to bag his first Premier League goal. But he certainly has the attributes to be a big success under Moyes at the London Stadium, while he has already scored twice in the Europa Conference League.
West Ham avoid transfer mistake
West Ham officials will be delighted that Sevilla rejected their bid for En-Nesyri, as they essentially dodged a bullet.
Scamacca is younger and currently more confident than his attacking counterpart, which bodes well for West Ham. In addition, he is likely to be more of a saleable asset in the future, which could see the east London side make a big profit.
West Ham fans had to wait 18 months for their club to bring in a new striker after letting Sebastien Haller join Ajax in January 2021.
They had several unsuccessful pursuits, including those of En-Nesyri and new Liverpool man Darwin Nunez.
But West Ham eventually came good and spent a reported £35.5m on Scamacca, which means they are no longer heavily reliant on Antonio.
