West Ham’s January transfer decision on Maxi Gomez now looks a masterstroke

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West Ham may have unknowningly saved themselves £21.7 million by opting to delay a move for Maxi Gomez until the summer as SPORT claim that his release clause would fall from 50 million euros (£43.3 million) to 25 million euros (£21.7 million) should Celta Vigo be relegated.

The Evening Standard reported that the Irons would hold off until the end of the campaign given the lack of time available to conclude a deal in January, comforted by the knowledge that Marko Arnautovic would not leave mid-season.

Now, as Celta Vigo dropped into the bottom three of La Liga on Sunday after defeat to Real Betis, the club could have saved themselves a huge amount of money.

The news is a major boost for Manuel Pellegrini and company as they begin to look ahead to the summer to plan their transfer business for the 2019/20 season.

With an extra £21.7 million in the budget, Pellegrini may be able to bring in another player and secure one of his top targets at a knock down price thanks to the poor performance of Gomez’s current club.

Celta Vigo are one point adrift of safety with 11 games still to be played, having appointed Fran Escriba to try to keep them up only last week.