At the beginning of February, West Ham United parted ways with their technical director Tim Steidten. Almost two months later, the 45-year-old spoke for the first time about his time with the Hammers.
In March 2023, it had officially become known that Bayer 04 Leverkusen would part ways with its “pearl diver” Tim Steidten, who had brokered numerous top transfers. A bombshell for which there were reasons. The now 45-year-old instead signed for West Ham United and was supposed to help lift the club to even greater heights.
Instead, however, the Hammers also parted ways with him at the beginning of February 2025. A departure that had drawn plenty of criticism for the technical director.
In particular, the relationship with former coach David Moyes, who is now under contract with Everton FC, was considered severely strained. Steidten vehemently denies in the podcast Klick & Rush that Moyes even issued him a “training ban.” “That’s wrong. I wasn’t told, ‘You can’t come here.’ Rather, I asked myself, ‘What will help this club the most? What if I work with the coach who might not want to work with me anymore?” No one could have given him such an order but owner David Sullivan.
Steidten has faced criticism, especially regarding his transfer policy, with the Hammers spending more than €155 million on nine players. Steidten faced particular criticism for the signings of Luis Guilherme and Niclas Füllkrug before their separation. The 19-year-old Brazilian only managed 50 minutes in seven Premier League appearances, while Füllkrug was out injured for months.
“I believe it takes eight to ten transfer windows to change a squad,“ says Steidten, who has also conveyed this to the owner: ‘This was a long-term project. At least that’s what I told the club.’
”I would have chosen the same players over and over again”
Steidten admitted “many mistakes during this time”. But his transfers were not among them. “I would have chosen the same players again and again,” emphasizes Steidten: “I am firmly convinced that Luis Guilherme will be an incredibly good player. It was perhaps the wrong time to get a young player, looking back. But not the wrong player.”
And Füllkrug? “I knew that Niclas would fit into the league and into our team. Besides, we were looking for someone who could also lead from the front in the dressing room. I’ve known him since I was at Werder Bremen. I would make this transfer again because I’m simply convinced of his quality.”
Steidten, who is said to have recently rejected several offers from Saudi Arabia, learned during his time as a “pearl diver” “that you should never regret an injury-related transfer because it’s something you simply can’t influence or foresee.”
Since the German’s departure, West Ham are currently ranked 16th in the Premier League – with the same number of points as Everton (15th) and Tottenham (14th).
