West Ham United supporters had their reservations when David Gold and David Sullivan sanctioned a £9.2 million deal to sign Jordan Hugill from Preston North End. 

The Hammers were far from the potent attacking threat which David Moyes wanted them to be, but signs of progress with Marko Arnautovic in attack provided sufficient reason to suggest that a mid-season panic buy was far from necessary.

But that did not deter the club from entering the market for a new player as they welcomed Hugill to east London following his decent start to the season, relatively speaking.

Hugill had scored eight goals in 27 Championship fixtures when he made the switch, averaging at less than a goal every three games.

That is hardly the sort of prolific return you would expect from a player making the step up to the top-flight, and his lack of quality showed in his distinct lack of involvement.

An underwhelming opening convinced West Ham to send him out on loan to Middlesbrough in the summer, with the option to sign him permanently for £6 million included as part of the deal, according to Bristol Live.

If Middlesbrough eventually decide to trigger that clause West Ham will make a loss of £3.2 million on a striker who made just three first-team appearances last season.

If that does indeed prove to be the case it will be a fitting case of I told you so for the supporters who heavily criticised the deal in January.

With only three goals from 12 championship appearances at Boro and competition from the likes of Britt Assombalonga and Rudy Gestede restricting him to just seven starts, the Hammers might count themselves lucky if the promotion-chasing side are even willing to part with the quoted figure.

Lesson learned for Gold and Sullivan: don't sign Championship players unless you are absolutely convinced they have the ability to genuinely make a difference at the top level.

Their decision was undoubtedly a huge mistake, and they will feel the full effect of it when they inevitably make a loss on their initial investment.

West Ham fans - thoughts? Let us know below!