Tim Steidten Criticizes Premier League Rival, But Shouldn’t He Have More Pressing Concerns?

Tim Steidten has been with West Ham United for 15 months, playing a significant role in various exciting transfers for the club.

Not only has he overseen numerous signings, but he also had considerable influence in the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as manager.

Despite the team’s sluggish start to the 2024/25 season, Steidten remains confident in Lopetegui’s capabilities, asserting that the Spaniard is still the right choice to lead the club.

Interestingly, while West Ham has underperformed this season, Steidten has largely avoided criticism, even though he was reportedly responsible for eight out of nine of the club’s summer signings.

In my opinion, he shares just as much accountability as Lopetegui for the team’s results.

The significant investment made in new players should ideally lead to a top-seven finish, but the performances on the pitch have yet to reflect that ambition.

Steidten is a figure who seems to enjoy the spotlight.

He is often seen on the field at the London Stadium before matches and even participated in a pre-match interview with Sky Sports a few weeks ago.

Recently, he has been in the news again, but this time for a topic unrelated to West Ham.

West Ham’s director of football (DOF), Tim Steidten, has sparked controversy by criticizing a Premier League rival.

Known for his relentless work in identifying transfer targets for the Hammers, Steidten has turned his attention to Fulham’s goalkeeper, Bernd Leno, and the player’s decision to decline a recent call-up to the German national team.

Leno, who was selected for the squad, chose to opt out, citing the heavy workload of playing in the Premier League.

Steidten, however, expressed his disagreement with Leno’s decision, as reported by German outlet Sport 1.

He stated, “The workload in the Premier League is of course high, I can understand Leno’s point on that.

But my personal opinion is: When the national team calls, you have to go.”

While Steidten is entitled to his opinion, it raises the question of why he is involving himself in this matter, which has little to do with his role at West Ham.

Shouldn’t he be focusing solely on scouting players and identifying transfer targets for the upcoming January window and next summer?

Since taking over as West Ham’s DOF in the summer of 2023, Steidten has certainly orchestrated some excellent signings for the club.

However, there is still much work to be done.

His primary focus should be securing top-tier transfers for West Ham and nothing more. The Bernd Leno situation, quite frankly, is not his concern.