West Ham Reject £45m Bid For 27-Year-Old Striker At Deadline: Right Decision From The Hammers? | OneFootball

Everton made a late attempt to sign a 27-year-old West Ham striker Taty Castellanos on deadline day, with a £40 million upfront offer plus £5 million in add-ons. Their efforts to recruit Folarin Balogun, Joshua Zirkzee and Tammy Abraham failed to produce a deal. According to TEAMtalk and reporter Graeme Bailey, Everton contacted West Ham with hours left, yet the Championship club remained open. West Ham would have accepted if they found a suitable replacement.

That condition proved decisive. With so little time available, West Ham chose to keep the Argentine forward rather than lose a key attacking option without cover. The striker stays as Nuno Espírito Santo targets an immediate Premier League return. At that point, West Ham valued continuity more than a rushed replacement in attack.

West Ham made the sensible call

From my perspective, rejecting £45 million was the right call, even though the fee represented a sizeable profit on the player signed from Lazio for just shy of £30 million in January. Cash looks tempting, particularly after relegation, but a promotion campaign needs reliable attacking options and sensible squad planning.

WATFORD, ENGLAND – AUGUST 29: Taty Castellanos of West Ham United arrives at the ground before the Sky Bet Championship 2026/27 match between Watford and West Ham United at Vicarage Road on August 29, 2026 in Watford, England. (Photo by Elli Birch/Getty Images)

Selling a proven forward hours before the window closed would have created a huge hole. West Ham couldn’t simply assume another striker would arrive in time, and panic recruitment often leaves clubs with an expensive player who doesn’t suit the manager’s plans. That risk mattered far more than the headline profit. That made the football risk much bigger.

The club’s position becomes clearer because their aim is immediate promotion. Losing an important forward while entering the season with limited time to rebuild would have shifted pressure onto Nuno and the attackers. A replacement might have cost heavily, or lacked the quality needed for promotion.

West Ham protect their promotion bid

Everton’s desperation explains the size of the proposal. Once Balogun fell through, and Zirkzee and Abraham failed to happen, Castellanos became a late solution rather than the opening plan. TEAMtalk says West Ham were willing to listen, but only with replacement cover secured.

That stance showed sound judgement. A £15 million paper profit means little if selling the striker weakens a squad that needs to return to the Premier League. West Ham now keep their forward and avoid a rushed deal that could have damaged their campaign before it settled.

For Everton, the episode underlines how badly the deadline day chase unravelled. For West Ham, keeping the 27-year-old was the safer football decision, even with £45 million on the table.