During the last international break, Johan Djourou made it very clear he wasn’t planning on staying at HSV in Germany for much longer.
With his contract running out at the end of the season, the Swiss international has been linked with a move to West Ham, with Slaven Bilic looking for a new centre-back in the summer to bolster the Hammers’ defence.
Barely playing in the Bundesliga since the club’s midseason break, the former Arsenal defender had a go at his current manager in an interview, accusing him of stripping him of the captain’s armband to deflect attention from the poor results.
However, another problem has emerged, one picked up by Bild on Thursday, who point out that most times the West Ham target is expected to play for HSV, Djourou somehow pulls out due to some injury.
This has happened more than once (three times, in fact), with the only time the player going through with his starting spot being in an 8-0 loss to Bayern Munich.
The latest came on Tuesday, when Djourou explained to staff he couldn’t play due to a groin injury, eventually having to watch his side’s 3-0 loss to Dortmund instead of taking part in it.
Whether this behaviour is just him trying to somehow avoid playing for HSV anymore remains to be seen, but West Ham, and any other clubs interested in the 30-year-old, will have to keep this in mind when approaching him.
Is he really injury prone, or is this just his way of finishing the season early? Either way, it’s not ideal.
