Savio NSereko will be remembered for a long time for the West Ham fans-for the wrong reasons.
The German striker switched to the hammers in 2009 as part of a club record transfer of 9 million pounds from Brescia.
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The commitment of the then 19-year-old caused great excitement after he was identified as a replacement for Craig Bellamy.
Bellamy was sold to Manchester City just a week before his record -breaking change for £ 14 million, and the fans of West Ham were longing for a proven goal scorer.
What they got was Savio, who had only scored three goals in series B in only 23 league games.
He was even presented with the legendary jersey No. 10 in Upton Park, which had become free after Bellamy’s departure to the Etihad.
The number awakens great expectations because it was worn by the clubling Paolo di Canio, Sir Trevor Brooking, Sir Geoff Hurst, Billy Bonds and John Moncur.
But saying that Savio did not live up to his price in the east of London would be an understatement.
Just six months after his arrival, he was referred to the Fiorentina with a loss of £ 7 million after he had only started once in the highest division.
Due to its dark performance and his almost three million pounds, the association led to an examination of its obligation by the association after the change of ownership in 2010.
Savio was recorded in West Ham’s previous Icelandic consortium, which was led by Björgolfur Gudmundsson – a deal that was almost immediately considered after David Gold and David Sullivan took over.
In her column for The Sun in 2012, managing director Karren Brady announced that the association would take a close look at the circumstances of the transfer.
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She said: “Shortly before this board took over the management, the association paid a huge amount to Brescia for the German U21 selection, which took part in a handful of playing and then left for a fraction of the price to Fiorentina.”
“The deal is something I am investigating.”
Since their unveiling, news has never been published about the results.
But Brady and West Ham may have every reason to be suspicious, since the technical director of the club was Gianluca Nani at the time of the transfer, the former son -in -law of Brescia’s President Luigi Corioni.
In total, Savio was used in ten Premier League games, but surprisingly bragged about more fouls [eight] When he registered shots [seven].
He participated without a goal participation, delivered no decisive passes and shot as often as he received yellow cards [two].
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In view of the feel -good factor that the club radiated at that time, hardly anyone would have expected that it would be so bad.
Despite the departure of Bellamy, the club had only been under the rule of Gianfranco Zola, who began to convince the fans with its attractive football style.
And it was the Italian icon that buried for the player on his arrival and claimed that the young player had many of the qualities he had himself.
He said on the club website: “Savio is very similar to it, which I was when I was 19. I wasn’t the player I am now, but I was very good at recording players. ”
“This is one of the main qualities that distinguishes a normal player from a special player. Not many players with such skills, especially in modern football. ”
He added: “Savio is already a top player. In any case, it has qualities that are rather a rarity in modern football. It is very important to sign players. “
“He will inspire the fans of West Ham United. He is certainly one of these players who catch your eye and we are confident that he will make it here. ”
But unfortunately Savio left the fans back with his head in his hands instead of being on his feet.
West Ham finally came to the conclusion that they had seen enough of him and reduced the losses in the striker, but after his return to Italy, his fate did not improve.
He never made it into the Fiorentina’s first team and was loaned at five different clubs between January 2010 and July 2012.
In the undoubtedly sad story of a young player who could not exploit his potential, West Ham-Fans still try to forget that he has ever played for her-not to mention her record transfer.