West Ham set to part ways with technical director Tim Steidten
Today at 12:51 PM
West Ham United are set to part ways with technical director Tim Steidten after freezing him out of their transfer plans for the January transfer window, The Guardian reports.
The 45-year-old joined in the summer of 2023 but has recently faced mounting pressure following a series of underwhelming signings that have drawn scrutiny from the club’s board.
The German was given the keys to West Ham’s transfer operations when he joined, but his influence has taken a significant dip this month.
The board recently restricted his access to internal systems, a move that all but confirms his imminent departure.
Adding fuel to the fire, West Ham decided to bring in one of Graham Potter’s trusted lieutenants, Kyle Macaulay, from Chelsea, as a recruitment analyst.
The 38-year-old hit the ground running on Thursday and is expected to spearhead West Ham’s transfer plans. There are even talks of the former midfielder potentially taking over as head of recruitment.
Steidten's position became increasingly precarious after Potter's arrival, even though the former Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion manager insisted he had no problems working with German.
Uneasy relationships with successive managers also contributed to Steidten's tumultuous tenure.
He didn’t see eye to eye with David Moyes, who barred him from the dressing room last season, and a similar situation occurred with Julen Lopetegui, who was dismissed earlier this month.
West Ham weren’t satisfied with Steidten’s work after seeing little return on investment on their £100 million splurge last summer.
The board weren’t particularly pleased with the signings of teenage winger Luis Guilherme for £25m and injury-prone striker Niclas Fullkrug for £27.5m.
The German striker is currently sidelined for up to 12 weeks with a hamstring injury, leaving West Ham to explore their options on the transfer market.
The Hammers have been linked with a host of strikers, including Ajax's Brian Brobbey, RB Leipzig's André Silva, Brighton's Evan Ferguson, Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz, and Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi.
