As per multiple reports, West Ham striker Chicharito was close to securing a switch to Turkish Super Lig giants Besiktas last month, with the club’s chairman, Fikret Orman, flying to London to hold advanced talks with the Mexican.
However, the Hammers held on to their £16million summer signing as a result of their injury crisis, choosing to allow both Andre Ayew and Diafra Sakho leave the London Stadium instead.
While the working relationship between manager David Moyes and Chicharito hasn’t become the smoothest over night, things appear to be getting better, and the 29-year-old looks set to see out the remainder of the 2 seasons on his current contract.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Liverpool, the Mexico international reflected on what has been a disappointing campaign for West Ham thus far and how things could improve next term.
Chicharito told the club’s website: “We had our targets, but they changed.
“At the beginning of the season, we were aiming to qualify for European competition, but now we are fighting against relegation, but that is sport, that is football and part of life, so we need to accept it and try to be better and get out and see what’s going to happen next year.
“If we have all these players recovered, probably next year we are going to be fighting for a European position, you never know.”
Having played the Europa League qualifiers at the start of last season, following a 7th-placed finish in 2015-16, West Ham were looking to finish in the European places again this season, following an underwhelming campaign last term.
It prompted the club to splash a combined £36million on both Chicharito and Marko Arnautovic, but things haven’t gone exactly as planned, with injuries taking a heavy toll on the club’s ambitions.
West Ham will hope lady luck smile on them next term, as far as keeping their core players fit goes, and Chicharito has expressed his willingness to stay and play a huge part as they target a top 7 finish.
It remains to be seen if Besiktas will return for his signature, as they look to replace Cenk Tosun, but should he continue finding the back of the net on a regular basis as he has done of recent, it’s highly unlikely that West Ham will sanction a summer sale.
Regular playing minutes were Chicharito’s greatest concern a few weeks ago, but with him now making most of his chances of establishing himself as an undisputed starter heading into the next term, it’s safe to say the Mexican legend has made a u-turn on the Turkey move.
