Di Canio Playing Against Leicester?

Last updated : 09 January 2002 By Mike Reich
Di Canio - I dunno if I'm going!
If Paolo di Canio is still a Hammer come Saturday, he will be available to Glenn Roeder for selection, having recovered from his flu.

By all accounts, the move is on hold due to various problems, the most important hold-up being the difference in the valutation of the player by the two clubs.

West Ham value him at £3.5m, whilst Manchester United's first offer is believed to be in the region of only £1m - £2m.

If West Ham were only to be offered that amount, West Ham would only see a small fraction of it. Firstly, since Paolo hasn't put in a transfer request as such, we would have to pay him around half a million as a settlement.

In addition to this, there was a sell-on clause when Paolo was purchased from Sheffield Wednesday that meant his former club received 20% of any future transfer deal. In addition to these expenses, there are agents fees to sort out.

So, with a fee from Manchester United of £1.5m, West Ham would see less than half of it.

As Trevor Brooking explains on HammersLine, this would represent bad business for the club, as Paolo is worth so much more to the club as a player than that: "You just have to look at it realistically from West Ham's point of view.

"There is no point in giving a valuable asset like Paolo away, and although I just think I'm sure he is attracted by the move, for us, with the papers suggesting £1.5 or £2m, he is more valuable than that sort of figure.

"In home games in particular he will always give you a chance to win and although it appears Manchester United would be looking to acquire him at the right price, it's really got to be beneficial for us - and Paolo as well. There is no point us losing one of our best assets for too low a fee.

"Whatever happens, Paolo has been a fantastic entertainer, a crowd pleaser, and has rightly earned the admiration of lots of fans.

"For a couple of seasons he has been as good as anyone in the Premiership; he had his sinus problems last year but has come back this season and generally speaking has contributed well. If you'd said you would let Paolo go for £1.5m you'd be inundated by people wanting to sign him for that because he is a talented lad.

"There is no point in the club giving him away for that sort of fee now when we know what he can do for us on the last 18 months of his contract.

"He still does things on the ball that other players can't do and, whilst we have got Jermain coming through, you do want to coax him through and you can't envisage him having to play every game as he develops over the next year or 18 months."

Let's just look forward to Paolo putting a few past Leicester on Saturday.