How Tim Steidten could be the unexpected hero in West Ham’s summer
Tim Steidten is not exactly a popular figure at West Ham United, but the club’s former technical director might yet give his standing in East London a bit of a boost.
While his two-year stay in East London was not entirely devoid of successes – Steidten signed off on Crysencio Summerville, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mohammed Kudus – it is fair to say he is remembered best for those high-profile misses.
See Niclas Fullkrug, Max Kilman, James Ward-Prowse and Luis Guilherme; four players brought in to West Ham United for around £120 million.
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Add Edson Alvarez to that list, and you would not get much change out of £160 million.
Yet, the man who lured the Mexican to West Ham in the first place may yet be responsible for his departure.
Tim Steidten’s Koln could end Edson Alvarez’s West Ham United frustration
In May, Steidten returned to the Bundesliga with FC Koln.
The former Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen chief works as the director of squad planning and recruitment in the Cathedral City. So as Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg reports that Alvarez is ‘open’ to joining Koln, this would be a deal with Steidten’s fingerprints all over it.
According to Cologne-based publication Express, Steidten still has a good relationship with the Mexico captain.
As Alvarez himself told the official West Ham website back in 2023, it was a phone call from Steidten which convinced the one-time Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich target to swap his red and white Ajax shirt for a claret and blue one.
“I had a few options,” Alvarez said. “But when Tim called me and explained what West Ham means, it was very easy to choose because the city, Premier League. West Ham is a beautiful and big team with big supporters.”
If the reports are true and Alvarez really is open to the idea of joining a Koln side who finished just three points above the relegation play-offs last season, it won’t be the midfielder’s interest in Gothic architecture or the views of the Rhine which twist Alvarez’s arm.
Alvarez keen to leave the Hammers after Mexico’s World Cup exit
Things are expected to speed up following Mexico’s exit from the 2026 World Cup on Monday morning.
“I’m still a West Ham player,” Alvarez told reporters before that thrilling 3-2 defeat by England at the Azteca. “Now I’m focused on the national team, but I must report (to West Ham for pre-season training after the tournament).”
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If Koln can find a way to finance a deal that would test the depths of their wallet, Alvarez might not be back in East London for long.
Alvarez allegedly earns around £100,000-a-week at West Ham. Koln may be relying on him taking a pay cut, plus the likely £17 million sale of the all-action Jakub Kaminski to Brighton or Benfica, in order to make what initially looked a highly-improbable deal even more possible.
Steidten was pictured alongside Alvarez in a private jet chartered for the English capital after travelling to Ajax for face-to-face talks in 2023.
One wonders how long it will be before he is dusting off his passport again and returning to London.
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