'West Ham were interested': Attacker admits he turned down Hammers for La Liga switch
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With Liverpool deepening the gloom, the test facing West Ham United’s many new signings is to prove that they can make the grade at Premier League level.
While Julen Lopetegui retains the faith of West Ham chairman David Sullivan, Wednesday’s latest collapse once again served to sap the confidence from a side who, lest we forget, went into the new season expected to take English football by storm.
West Ham pulled off a host of high-profile signings over the summer, after all.
Carlos Soler joined on loan from PSG, Jean-Clair Todibo arrived from Nice, while the Hammers snapped up Germany’s number ninein Niklas Fullkrug too.
The 2023/24 Championship Player of the Year now also calls the London Stadium home.
And while Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher praised West Ham newbie Crysencio Summerville – arguably the stand-out in that 5-1 Carabao Cup collapse – he, like the rest of the club’s new faces, must now prove that potential can be turned into something more concrete.
Summerville will not want to end up like Pione Sisto, for instance.
Pione Sisto opens up on failed West Ham United move
Playing in Greek football at the age of 29, Sisto admits that his career has not really panned out the way he’d have hoped when turning down West Ham in favour of La Liga and Celta Vigo.
“I always want to be able to improve and develop. There will always be room [to discuss] whether something could have been done differently or [whether] I could have taken it to another level,” the 26-time Denmark international tells Tipsbladet.
“There are times when I can sit down and think; ‘Why did you do that?’. For example, when I was on my way to Celta Vigo, West Ham were interested.
“Maybe I could have earned more money at West Ham and played in the Premier League. It is only later that you find out why you did what you did. Sometimes you don’t know until later.
“This is how I deal with life and, in the end, it all makes sense. It all happens for a reason.”
Sisto was one of the most hotly-tipped young players in Scandinavia around the time of West Ham’s interest.
The young winger – an explosive talent with a penchant for cutting in from the left-hand side – would opt for Spanish football instead, however. He joined Celta Vigo from Midtjylland back in 2016 for a fee in the region of £4 million.
And while Sisto had his moments in Andalusia – he scored six goals in each of his first two Celta seasons – he would slowly fall out of favour before returning to Midtjylland when he really should have been entering his prime.
Julen Lopetegui hails Crysencio Summerville despite West Ham collapse
Sisto’s story is one of unfulfilled potential.
West Ham, a dreadful start under Lopetegui continuing with no end in sight, will be hoping that they do not look back on the current era with a familiar sense of ‘what might have been’.
David Moyes’ replacement was, at least, enthused by the performances of Crysencio Summerville, Todibo and Soler as he attempted to highlight the admittedly few positives from Liverpool’s Anfield cruise.
"There are positives, such as the players who played for the first time in the starting line-up, though it is not easy to say that today," Lopetegui said during his post-match press conference. "People like Jean-Clair, Carlos, and Crysencio all had a very good match.
"We have to take the positives and look forward to Brentford.
"We are now eliminated from the Carabao Cup, and now we have to put our focus on the more important competitions, such as the Premier League.
"I think that we have to think about the next match against Brentford, as this is a very important match for us. We have to be ready to compete and take the positives because they are going to demand this."
