Former West Ham United director of football Tim Steidten has defended his transfer work at the club, insisting he’d sign the likes of Luis Guilherme and Niklas Füllkrug again given the chance.
Kicker cover comments from the German today, made on the Kick & Rush podcast, in which he discusses his transfer policies and his relationship with David Moyes.
Steidten joined the Hammers in July 2023 after several years working in Germany for Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen in various transfer related roles.
He was appointed by the Hammers as they looked to kick on and push the club further, hopefully establishing themselves as a European team and perhaps even more.
While the club enjoyed success under his reign, the transfer business done by him has been questioned from day one, with several big signings failing to prove worthy of the prices paid for them.
That’s certainly the case when it comes to Füllkrug and Guilherme, but Steidten believes that they were good moves, and ones he’d make again.
“I believe it takes eight to ten transfer windows to change a squad. This was a long-term project. At least, that’s what I told the club,” he said.
“I would have chosen the same players again and again. I am firmly convinced that Luis Guilherme will be an incredibly good player. Looking back, it may have been the wrong time to bring in a young player. But not the wrong player.
“I knew Niclas would fit into the league and our team. We were also looking for someone who could also lead the dressing room.
“I’ve known him since I was at Werder Bremen. I would make this transfer again because I’m simply convinced of his quality. You should never regret a transfer due to injury, because you simply can’t influence or predict it.”
Aside from questions about his transfer activity, there was also consistent speculation that Steidten had a rocky relationship with West Ham’s managers.
This started under David Moyes, with several reports insisting that they had a strained relationship. This eventually led to him, allegedly, being banned from the training ground by the Scottish boss.
It was reportedly a similar story under his successor Julen Lopetegui, but Steidten insists this was never the case.
“That’s wrong. I wasn’t told, ‘You’re not allowed to come here,’” he said.
“Rather, I asked myself, ‘What will help this club the most? What if I work with the coach now, who might not want this collaboration anymore?'”
