West Ham have continued to surprise the footballing world following their 3-2 win over Premier league leaders Chelsea on Saturday.
Many fans questioned if the Hammers 6th placed finish last year was a fluke and if their performance could be sustained this season with the inclusion of European football and the loss of talisman Jesse Lingard following the conclusion of his loan spell.
However, things are only looking up at the London Stadium, currently sitting in 4th two points above Tottenham Hotspur the sky seems to be the limit for the East End boys.
But, in the Premier League you can never sit back and relax, teams have to be pro-active instead of reactive (plus we all like to play Football Manager sometimes).
Therefore, here are some players West Ham United could look to sign in the January transfer window to continue their Champions League push.
Jesse Lingard
Realistically Jesse Lingard isn’t a need for the Hammers, with Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals playing their most impressive football to date, alongside both Said Benrahma and Manuel Lanzini, the two or three spots behind the striker are probably West Ham’s strongest position.
However, the attacking midfielder came into the side last January and helped spearhead them into European competition with nine goals in only 16 appearances, outperforming everyone mentioned earlier.
This season the England international is yet to start for Manchester United and with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, he may be available in a cut-price deal of only £10 million, so why not?
Nathan Ake
West Ham are currently experiencing a multitude of horrific injuries at the centre back position. Angelo Ogbonna suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Liverpool last month which will most likely see him out for the rest of the season.
There are also fears within the West Ham hierarchy that summer signing Kurt Zouma, who has been incredible all season long, may miss a great deal of time following the injury he sustained against his former side on the weekend.
It has become all too apparent that losing Ogbonna, a left-footed centre-back, has impacted how West Ham start their attacks on that side of the pitch. Becoming ponderous and slow in possession since his injury.
When asked what the injuries at centre back may mean for the club’s transfer dealings in January, West Ham Manager David Moyes, pushed the question aside; “January is far away we have a game next week before we get to January. I’m just hoping they are okay.”
He continued, “I don’t know how bad Kurt is. Ben (Johnson) looked as if he has pulled his hamstring a little bit. I need to get players back, Ryan Frederick needs to come back, Aaron Cresswell and as you well know we don’t have Angelo Ogbonna for a while because of his ACL. I am hoping they are okay”.
So it is clear to see the Hammers are desperate to find a solution at the back, and that’s where Nathan Ake comes in. The Manchester City defender has started only four games for City, and with Ruben Dias, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte it was always going to be tough for Ake to find game time, so there is a possibility City would be willing to see the Dutchman leave for the right price or on a loan deal.
Arthur Cabral
Michail Antonio continues to look more and more impressive with every season that passes. Leading the Hammers currently with six league goals and causing every team he comes against to weep in fear.
The other out-and out strikers in the West Ham first team are… that’s right no one. Going into a season with European football and so many extra fixtures to play you would’ve thought the striker position would have been addressed in the summer, it wasn’t, but despite it not yet biting West Ham in the backside there is still over half of the Premier League season, the FA Cup, the latter stages of the Europa league and a EFL Quarter-final against London rivals and top-4 competition Tottenham Hotspur to come.
Therefore, a striker should be top priority and 25 goals in 26 games, speaks for itself.
Arthur Cabral recently received his first call-up for the Brazil National Team in October and has been causing destruction up and down the Swiss Super League as well as in the Europa Conference League.
Cabral is in a similar mold to that of Antonio, strong and powerful with flair and pace sprinkled in. At only 23 years of age ,compared to Antonio who is 31, the Basel front-man seems the perfect back-up turn replacement for the Jamaican in the West Ham set up.
