10 Players You Didn't Know West Ham Almost Signed
8. Wilfried Bony
Unless you are an avid follower of the Eredivisie, you will perhaps not have been so prepared for Bonys spectacular debut season in English football. Following a slow start, the Swansea City record signing calmly shook off the stigma of his £12 million price tag, and filled the boots of the injury-plagued Michu with aplomb. Finishing the season with 25 goals in all competitions, the Welsh club are tasked with the challenge of hanging onto the Ivorian international, especially since he managed to get off the mark in the World Cup finals this summer.
However, it was certainly a case of 50/50 whether the 2013 Capital One Cup winners were going to land their man last summer, with West Ham fighting them all the way for Bonys signature. Threatening to hijack Swanseas plans with a bid of £10.2 million for the striker, Vitesse Arnhem were licking their lips at the prospect of a bidding war between two Premier League clubs.
West Hams efforts to wrangle Andy Carroll away from Liverpool were in limbo, and for a period of four weeks, their attentions were very much focused on Bony. However, with Laudrup hell-bent on getting his man, Swansea persuaded Bony to join them, offering him the European football they had acquired from their trophy success the previous season.
As we all know, Bony flourished in the league, while the permanently-acquired and more expensive frontman Andy Carroll failed to shake off his injury woes, culminating in his failure to reserve a spot in the worst England squad for decades. This summer, the Ivorian international is already linked with a move away, with bids of £25 million mooted in the press. If Swansea can get that amount of goals, while receiving a 100% profit, Bony will prove to be one of their greatest ever signings. For West Ham, it is simply a case of what might have been.