West Ham told to sell £17.5m star - 'It’s best for all parties' | OneFootball

Maxwel Cornet is back at West Ham for pre-season training, although it remains to be seen if he has a future at the club.

West Ham are expected to be very busy in the summer market, as they prepare for life back in the Championship.

Like every relegated club, the Hammers knew dropping out of the top flight was going to have a huge financial impact, but the £85m sale of Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham will help balance the books.

Nuno Espírito Santo will hope those funds can help bring in new signings, but he will also be aware that other departures are necessary.

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West Ham and Maxwel Cornet would benefit from summer exit

And, one individual who is unlikely to play a part at West Ham this season is Maxwel Cornet.

The Ivory Coast international joined the Londoners for £17.5m from Burnley in 2022, but he has had a difficult time since he signed.

Cornet has made just 21 Premier League appearances for the club, the last of which came in the 2023/24 campaign, with the winger spending the past two years out on loan at Southampton and Genoa.

It should be noted that injuries have restricted the impact Cornet could make, but he has been a forgotten figure at West Ham, as he enters the final year of his deal in the capital.

However, the 29-year-old has been back with the Hammers squad as they begin pre-season, and it’s the first chance that Nuno will have to properly assess the player.

Yet, when asked by FLW whether Cornet deserves a chance to stick around to be part of Nuno’s squad this season, West Ham fan pundit Ryan Horn made it clear that a summer move would suit the club and Cornet.

“I think we should sell Cornet. He hasn’t done much at West Ham, he hasn’t had consistent game time, or shown any form at all.

“Cornet has been out on loan for two years now, and, even then, nobody has signed him. So, we should try and cash in for whatever money we can, rather than losing him on a free.

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“I think he could do well in the Championship, just not with West Ham! It’s best for all parties that he moves on, so we have a space open in the squad to bring someone else in, and Cornet could have a fresh start somewhere else.”

West Ham can’t rely on Maxwel Cornet going into 2026/27 season

You can never fully write a player off, especially as Cornet has shown plenty of quality earlier in his career, but the reality is that it would be a massive shock if he played a prominent role this season.

The ex-Lyon man hasn’t done much in the past few years, and his injury record is a major concern, so Nuno is not going to be relying on Cornet.

That’s not to say that he won’t have a role to play, but ultimately it’s going to be down to the player. If Cornet can impress in pre-season, he might get a chance in the early games, and he will need to take that opportunity.

Otherwise, and this seems far more realistic, a move will be sorted before the deadline. That may not be straightforward for West Ham financially, as it’s hard to imagine there will be clubs queuing up to take someone on his salary.

So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out, but it would be a real shock if Cornet did manage to have a starring role for West Ham moving forward.