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During every transfer window West Ham have developed a charming habit of admiring players from a safe, non‑committal distance only to watch them trot off elsewhere for fees that make you wonder whether someone at Rush Green misplaced the calculator. This summer’s transfer window has similarly been frustrating so far and recent years have also offered a parade of nearly‑Hammers as the club repeat the seemingly endless, damaging cycle of ‘identify-enquire-pontificate-lose out”. With an eye on different targets given the club are now playing in the second tier, I thought it would be interesting to see where some of the previous targets have found themselves… Take Promise David, (main pic) remember him? The Canadian goal machine who turned the Belgian league into his personal highlight reel with 29 goals in 59 appearances for Union Saint‑Gilloise. West Ham tracked him across two windows, monitored him, admired him, and ultimately did nothing more than make an enquiry. Naturally, he’s now at Brighton (Tony Bloom owns both clubs) on a loan with an option to buy at £22m. Quelle surprise. He was an unused substitute in the win against Aston Villa. Then there’s Zion Suzuki. In July 2025 West Ham reportedly lobbed in a €25m bid for the Parma goalkeeper a bid Parma rejected. The club then pivoted to Mads Hermansen, who happened to be the first choice of the then‑goalkeeper coach, Casper Ankergren. Fast‑forward 13 months and Suzuki rocks up at Aston Villa for £30m… they conceded four goals with the custodian on the bench against Brighton. Taiwo Awoniyi is another forward the club were keen on back in January 2025. At the time, Nottingham Forest’s £20m valuation was laughed off as wildly unrealistic, and West Ham sensibly walked away. Fast‑forward to the present and that price has collapsed, allowing newly promoted Coventry City to nip in and pick him up for just £9m. A classic case of timing doing all the heavy lifting. However the most annoying miss was Eli Junior Kroupi, and on this one West Ham aren’t at fault. They made a very impressive offer to his club Lorient, believed to be upto £35m according to a number of reports at the time. Yet ignored one minor detail, in that Bill Foley, Bournemouth’s owner also holds a minority stake in the French club. Shortly after a mere £10m secured a deal to take the striker to the South coast, currently valued at £80m with a contract that ties him down until June 2030. Hopefully this window finally uncovers a few genuine gems, though I won’t be holding my breath. With a certain former board member now far less involved in the club’s day‑to‑day affairs, at least West Ham fans can relax knowing we won’t be subjected to that familiar line: “We tried …”