Everton and West Ham dodge bullet over €12m transfer, should be a relief

German newspaper Bild believe Hamburg are fed up of giving chances to Bobby Wood, and manager Markus Gisdol is set to look towards other options.

Gisdol have kept faith with Wood, partly because he obviously thought the striker would come good, and partly because HSV haven’t really got a lot of options. Now in the relegation zone, Gisdol needs to try anything else he can, because a non-scoring striker isn’t the answer.

Back in April, the German media were reporting that Wood was much wanted, with Everton and West Ham linked to the player. With a €12m buyout clause, Wood wouldn’t have been difficult for either Everton or West Ham to sign, and that created some worry.

In fact, HSV were so concerned they extended Wood’s contract in June, so he now has a bumper deal until 2021. Unfortunately, Wood hasn’t scored since August, and that’s his only Bundesliga goal in the current campaign. In 9 matches.

As it stands, Everton and West Ham can breathe a sigh of relief at dodging this particular transfer. In the summer, when English interest was being talked up, Wood being a US international was seen as a distinct marketing advantage, but he’s surely got to be scoring goals for that to be applicable.