West Ham After van Nistelrooy

David Sullivan claims he has offered a £100,000-a-week contract to a 'special player', who most of the media are agreed is Ruud van Nistelrooy.

To offer a player £100,000 a week may seem a bit rich after Sullivan's criticisms of the last owners signing players on huge wages. Sullivan however says that these are special circumstances.

"We've offered £100,000-a-week to a player today and we are still not sure we are going to get him," he said.

"That was a very special player. There's no transfer fee involved and he's got the choice of almost every club in Europe. He has played at the highest level.

"He's down to three clubs and West Ham are the only English club still in the hunt for him. Whether we get him is another thing.

"We can carry one exceptional player, who would make a difference on that wage, but generally we have to bring the wages down and in the summer we would hope to sign younger players on a fraction of those wages.

"We have looked at a few players in the Championship but the reality is that it is no good if they make the grade in 12 months' time, we need them to make the grade now.

"We have a crisis and you have to have a different strategy to what our long-term strategy will be."

Mr 'Egghead' might argue that this is exactly what he did when he became chairman of the club. He signed players on huge wages in January because West Ham were in a relegation struggle.

I think I have to agree with David Sullivan however. If there is no transfer fee involved then it seems legitimate to spend what you save on the fee on wages. Whether West Ham can attract a special player considering the club's position is an entirely different matter.