With a couple of weeks to go until the start of the 2024/25 Premier League season, West Ham have already got a handful of deals across the line, with the potential for a few more before a ball is kicked.
Once the club had secured Julen Lopetegui as their new first-team coach, it was obvious that the recruitment department of the club were going to have to up their game a few notches.
Young Brazilian ace, Luis Guilherme was quickly secured followed by the captures of Lopetegui’s captain at Wolves, Max Kilman, and Wes Foderingham.
Up until the past few days, the Hammers appear to have missed out on a number of targets, though things seem to be moving on apace now.
Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrug and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have all been strongly linked with moves to East London and that, according to Stan Collymore, would be decent business for the Hammers.
“I remember saying that when Julen Lopetegui signed Max Kilman, that’s the manager getting his own way, getting his feet under the table and being placated,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“Fans perhaps don’t understand how long it takes to get a deal over the line. It’s all ‘get it done, get it done’ but it’s never as simple as that. Transfers have got to be done at the right time and for the right price as well.
“Fullkrug, I thought did well for Germany at the Euros and he harks back to a British type centre-forward.
“West Ham have generally been more successful when they have a big man there (Andy Carroll/Michail Antonio), so I think that Jarrod Bowen and others playing off him is a great idea for West Ham.
“Wan-Bissaka for £10m-£15m would give West Ham a steady full-back, and we know what he can do. He’s got pace even if he does have questionable defensive abilities at times, in the same way that Trent Alexander Arnold’s capabilities have also been questioned.
“So, Fullkrug, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman and Crysencio Summerville… I think that’s good, solid business from West Ham in this window.”
Of course, there’s still work to do to get a few of those names over the line, but the Hammers hierarchy will surely be aware that Lopetegui is unlikely to hang about if he doesn’t get the names he wants.
It’s a real crossroads now for the East Londoners because if they can strengthen to the extent they want to, there’s every chance that a Champions League berth is in their grasp.
The post Exclusive: “Good, solid business” – West Ham’s transfer window deals scrutinised by Collymore appeared first on CaughtOffside.
