Eccentric Hull City owner holds impromptu press conference to address West Ham transfer rumour over star player Keane Lewis-Potter.
West Ham have been heavily linked with a move for Hull’s enigmatic attacker in recent months (Hull Daily Mail).
It is hardly surprising given the success of the last attacker West Ham signed from the Tigers – Jarrod Bowen.
Lewis-Potter is very much in the Bowen mould and West Ham boss David Moyes is said to be a serious admirer of the skilful ace.
West Ham need a host of signings this summer with several players leaving or not in Moyes’s plans.
And rumours have abound that one of the first arrivals will be Lewis-Potter from Hull – who finished 19th in the Championship last season.
Indeed this week a reporter in Hull claimed the deal was all but done.
There was a strange twist last night, though.
That’s after Hull’s eccentric owner held an impromptu press conference to address the West Ham transfer rumour over star player Lewis-Potter.
Acun Ilicali, a Turkish Turkish television personality and producer with a net worth of £80 million, randomly announced he was holding a press conference.
And he proceeded to tell the world that West Ham were dreaming if they think they can sign Lewis-Potter this summer calling the star ‘God’s gift’ to Hull City.
“He has extreme potential. He is going to be one of the biggest stars of the future. Of course, we have big offers for him. If I had any interest in making any money, there cannot be a better deal than that – you buy a football club and you sell the left winger and you make enough money to make all the transfers.
“But I reject all of these. Even if they (West Ham) offer £30m to me, I will not sell him because I think his presence is much more important than anything for this club at the moment.
“He will be so useful for our team and our fans that I will not lose him. When I have something shiny, I do everything to get it. But in this case, he is already with us, so nobody can take him from us.
“I cannot say what he thinks. I can only tell you that I am very focused on keeping him because he is a fantastic player. He is one of a kind.”
Looking at the situation one could read between the lines that this is a club owner looking to make it clear to fans he wants to keep the club’s star knowing the player himself may end up forcing his hand.
The words: “I cannot say what he thinks” are quite telling.
So West Ham should not be perturbed if this is a player Moyes really wants in the door.
At the end of the day if West Ham are offering nearly half Ilicali’s net worth and the player is keen then a deal will get done.
Money has always and invariably always will talk when it comes to football transfers.
