West Ham: Is Yaya Toure worth the effort?

(Photo credit: Alejandro Rázuri)

West Ham have been very active so far in the transfer market, having made six signings and spent around £50 million. 

Jack Wilshere was arguably their highest-profile signing as he joined his boyhood club on a free transfer after his Arsenal contract expired. 

But their other signings have caught the eye with Issa Diop, Lukasz Fabianski, Ryan Fredericks, Sebastian Nebyla and Andriy Yarmolenko.  

While the Hammers look like they are building a European level side, they still lack a few quality players which is why they have been on the lookout for a player like Toure.

Where would he fit?

With Jack Wilshere already signed, West Ham have a plethora of midfield options. Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang and Manuel Lanzini represent quality Premier League quality central midfield options. 

But adding Toure would give the Hammers another option very different to what they currently have. Yes, this would not be the same player who scored 24 goals from midfield in the 2013/14 season, but Toure is still a quality midfielder who can contribute to a Premier League side.

We all know what Toure can offer, he was one of the most complete midfielders to ever grace the Premier League. Goalscoring, defending, energy, physicality and the ability to score hugely important goals. 

If West Ham even gets 50% of the player that Toure was three years ago then they will be adding a superb player to their squad.

Is he worth the wage demands?

Toure reportedly wants over £100k a week and a huge signing on bonus at the club. That would probably put him as one of the top three earners at West Ham and represent a significant outlay from their budget.

This is a player who played just ten Premier League games last season and only rarely was given starts. So West Ham are going a bit into the unknown if they were to sign him as he has not played a proper full season of football for two years. 

Really this is a risky signing for West Ham as they would be buying an older player who has not contributed effectively for a few years. At 35, you cannot rely on him being what he was and therefore he is probably not worth such a huge outlay.

Pep Guardiola allegedly froze Toure out because he was seen as a disturbance in the dressing room. Would it be worth bringing him in and potentially rocking the boat?

That being said, Manuel Pellegrini got the best out of Toure when he was at Manchester City, because of that West Ham could probably trust that they would get the best out of Toure.

Either way, this transfer is intriguing and it will be interesting to see if the Hammers do make their interest concrete and offer him a contract. 

What do you make of West Ham's transfer business so far? Let us know in the comments below.