The appointment of Tim Steidten as new technical director last week should ensure West Ham United steer clear of signing too many duds this summer.
While every club is guilty of overspending on players who make little impact before being moved on, there are more examples at West Ham than at most – not least with their most recent big-money acquisition.
Is Gianluca Scamacca leaving West Ham?
Scamacca joined West Ham from Sassuolo in a £35.5m deal last summer and, like Sebastian Haller and Felipe Anderson before him, he has not exactly proved value for money thus far.
The Italy international has averaged 0.29 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes over the past year, as per FBref, which ranks him in the bottom 41% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues.
Factor in that he is in the bottom 6% for assists (none last season) and in the bottom 11% for touches in the box (11 per 90), and it is clear that David Moyes could do with bringing in someone else to lead the line.
The Daily Mail previously reported that West Ham will listen to offers for Scamacca this summer, but they are only open to a permanent exit, rather than any loan deals.
Where is Lille forward Jonathan David going?
According to journalist Ignazio Genuardi, West Ham are showing a strong interest in Lille's Jonathan David to effectively replace Scamacca. However, the Hammers supposedly face competition from Serie A champions Napoli and possibly also fellow Italian heavyweights Juventus.
In contrast to Scamacca, David ranks in the top 61% of his positional peers for non-penalty goals (0.40 per 90) and top 15% for touches in the opposition box (6.08 per 90).
David has a habit of popping up in dangerous positions and scores goals on a regular basis, with 24 in 37 Ligue 1 outings last season bettered only by Alexandre Lacazette (27) and Kylian Mbappe (29).
Football writer Ben Jacobs recently suggested Lille are expected to sell David this summer, with the Canada international preferring a move to the Premier League, but he will only leave if his €60m (£51m) price tag is met.
The 23-year-old is about more than just scoring goals, too, with his 81.8 pass-completion percentage last season showing he can help link play in the final third. For some added perspective, Scamacca completed 66.7% of his passes last term, while only five West Ham players could better David's tally.
David has also shown he is capable of continuing his hot streak across different leagues, having previously netted at a prolific rate in Belgium when scoring a goal every other game for Gent (30 goals in 60 games).
"He is a phenomenon. The best player in the country," former Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck said at the time, echoing the views of anyone who got to watch the Canadian up close over those two campaigns.
After tearing up the top tiers of Belgian and French football, England – and indeed West Ham – may be next on David's to-do list.