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Tim Stiedten is on the verge of leaving West Ham, according to TBR Football.

The Technical Director’s position in east London has been intensely scrutinised since his arrival in July 2023.

Some believe he has worked wonders in the transfer market, others claim he has been a failure.

The truth is arguably somewhere in between.

He supposedly fell out with David Moyes and his replacement, Julen Lopetegui. Many weren’t happy to see him doing pre-match interviews on TV and spending time on the pitch observing warm-ups before games. A Technical Director should not be a media-facing figure at any football club.

He was, though, the man who convinced both Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez to swap Ajax for West Ham. He famously traveled at the last minute to France to usurp Juventus in the race for Jean-Clair Todibo and succeeded.

Mohammed Kudus

Fair concerns exist over the decision to sign Niclas Fullkrug over Jhon Duran last summer. Although the £25m spent on Luis Guilherme seemed rather excessive at the time, it was obvious at the time that the Brazilian’s arrival wasn’t intended to be for the first team this season.

There have been pros and cons to Stiedten’s presence in east London and it cannot be expected that every single signing made will be a success, especially not at West Ham where it’s often more of a frantic search for players than a well-considered approach to business based on extensive scouting.

That could be about to change with the arrival of Kyle Macaulay from Chelsea as the club’s new Head of Recruitment. Macaulay worked with Graham Potter at Ostersunds, Swansea, Brighton and Chelsea and is no doubt the main man behind Potter’s reputation for finding gems in the transfer window.

Potter is used to working in a more structured recruitment environment and that’s not something West Ham is used to having, even with Stiedten in place over the last two years.

Meanwhile, anyone asking where Stiedten fits in this new recruitment department being created by Potter now have their answer. He doesn’t.

West Ham manager Potter

But the answer really isn’t that simple. His imminent departure raises far more questions than it does answers.

Such as, why was he allowed to be so visible by the media? Why wasn’t he given full control of the club’s technical operations? Why was he falling out with managers?

The second question is the one fans want answers to the most. It is no secret David Sullivan struggles to loosen his grip on certain matters involving transfers at the club. That makes the decision to appoint the German so confusing in the first place.

Was he so bad at his job that he deserved to be sacked? Absolutely not.

It is arguably the way in which he was or wasn’t allowed to do his job which has led to this point. He was in charge of recruitment but was seemingly wrestling with Sullivan over who should and shouldn’t be signed.

Even where managerial appointments are concerned, it’s believed Stiedten did not want Lopetegui last summer, but Sullivan insisted.

With such a power struggle present at the very top of the club, is it any wonder someone is losing their job? It was a bizarre relationship between Technical Director and owner that no one will ever really understand.

That’s a question we do know the answer to. The other questions? We may never know the truth.