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The recent sale of Sebastien Haller to Ajax is the latest transfer blunder from West Ham’s owners 

For years now, West Ham fans have been crying out for new ownership after co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold have repeatedly let down the club’s fanbase. 

A reign built on promises to take the club into new heights has resulted in failures, and their latest transfer business shows why we will never progress further as a club unless we get new owners.

In the beginning, when they bought the club in 2010, the foundations laid down looked promising. A Championship play-off final win boosted us into the Premier League in 2012 and we have held our own in mid-table. However, not much has changed since.

The stadium change brought heaps of controversy and has created a contrasting atmosphere compared to Upton Park. While the squad has become stronger, West Ham’s training facilities and scouting department still seems lacklustre.

As the owners finally begin to empty their pockets to try and compete, money has been wasted on unsuccessful players – take their most recent activity for example.

After splashing out £45m on Ivorian striker Sebastien Haller, high expectations were held by fans. Although he struggled to justify that price tag, Haller’s main issue was finding a system that suited his style of play.

At Eintracht Frankfurt he played in a top-two with Luka Jovic, where he shined because he received the service he needed. The 26-year-old is a very good striker but unfortunately didn’t fit our system.

But despite this, the deal in itself was not good business. A club-record fee of £45m was spent, and the owners have only just found a way to pay that sum off. Only now that he has signed for Ajax, we can invest in more players.

While we take a huge loss from the money spent on Haller, Gold and Sullivan are still trying to find extra cash to bring in new players – now that we are striker-less.

Robert Snodgrass’ departure this week is evidence of this, leaving the team with little options coming off the bench. As the 17th richest club in the world, according to Forbes, you wouldn’t expect the club to be panic selling players to scurry around for loose change.

This is not the first time, either. Albeit not huge dents to the bank, the departures of Jordan Hugill, Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez all resulted in losses. £35m Felipe Anderson was also a large amount spent on a player that hasn’t impressed so far. Could we lose money on him as well?

The owners’ biggest issue is trusting the manager with transfers and backing them with the funds to sign players. When Grady Diangana was sold in the summer, Moyes had expressed his discomforts, but the board overruled his judgement anyway.

Building a team around the ideas of the manager is key when developing a club. But Sullivan and Gold’s hands-on approach has proved costly in the transfer market, which is a big reason why West Ham need a change.