Football Insider
·5 October 2019
Football Insider
·5 October 2019
West Ham will save £8,000-a-week if they can get Martin Samuelsen off their wage bill in January, Football Insider can reveal.
The wide forward, 22, is surplus to requirements at the London Stadium and, as revealed by Football Insider this week, is set to be offloaded for good in the winter window.
Samuelsen is a relatively big earner given that he has only played twice for the Hammers in the five years since joining from Manchester City in his teens.
A West Ham source has told Football Insider that the club are eager to get rid of his salary and use the £200,000-plus left on his deal in the second half of the season on other young players.
The Londoners are hopeful of finding a permanent buyer for Samuelsen given interest in him from clubs in Scandinavia and Holland.
Samuelsen, who is currently out on loan at FK Haugesund in his native Norway, is out of contract at the end of the season.
The youngster has failed to live up to the hype since arriving from the Etihad Stadium with a glowing reputation as one of Europe’s most promising attackers.
He has earned two full Norway caps but did not consistently deliver during spells on loan at English lower league clubs Peterborough United, Burton Albion and Blackburn Rovers, as well as VVV-Venlo in Holland.
Samuelsen has fared marginally better at FK Haugesund since arriving in February of this year, scoring nine goals from 29 appearances in all competitions.
The youngster has spoken of the need to put down roots at one club rather than constant loan moves and switches.
In other West Ham news, it can be REVEALED that the club are confident of beating Madrid giants to new signing next week.