At the beginning of July there were claims in the English media of West Ham offering €25m for Cédric Bakambu.
That offer was reportedly rejected by Villarreal, and, as we noted at the time, it would have nonsensical for West Ham not to return with an extra €5m.
There are plenty of arguments to suggest Bakambu may not be the player for West Ham, but if he’d been identified then not returning with the extra €5m, which would hit the striker’s buyout clause and force a sale, wouldn’t make a great deal of sense.
The 26 year old replied: “Yes (that’s a yes to hearing the talk, not him confirming the offer), but in my head my dream the idea has been to continue in this team because I have the 
feeling that the work I’ve done here is not over yet. That’s why I’ve always wanted to continue longer with Villarreal.”
It was a textbook answer from Bakambu, and the footballer could hardly have said much different. He’s happy at Villarreal, but should a club hit that magic €30m mark and offer a big pay rise, that situation is likely to be tested.
