Santo has been left frustrated so farplaceholder image
Santo has been left frustrated so far | AFP via Getty Images
West Ham are already said to be planning for the January transfer window.
West Ham are reportedly already making plans for the winter window now that Nuno Espirito Santo has had chance to get to know his squad a little. Santo has now had three games in charge, picking up just one point so far, and it already feels like Friday’s date with potential relegation rivals Leeds United will be an important one.
Santo knew that this would be a big challenge, taking over a team that has failed to deliver under two managers already, and two managers with differing styles, too. In fact, the Hammers were reportedly willing to wait to appoint Santo to give him a better chance of starting well, but he instead demanded to take over when he did in a bid to get to work as soon as possible.
Tens of thousands of West Ham fans boycotted the defeat to Brentford on Monday amid discontent with owner David Sullivan, and while the fans certainly have the right to express their concerns, the situation naturally makes things more difficult for Santo as he looks to turn things around.
The West Ham boss said after the Brentford defeat: “It was a difficult evening for us. Nobody’s going to sleep tonight and rightly so. It was not good enough. We have to be strong in every moment, in every duel. Individually, we have to improve. We have to win our own duels so we can, as a team, improve.
“We need to be stronger down the road [starting at Leeds]. The good thing is it’s coming soon. It’s coming fast in four days’ time. And we have to show another situation, another face, if you want, of ourselves. We must improve so many things.”
West Ham hatch transfer plan
With West Ham possessing one of the weaker squads in the Premier League, transfers are going to be vital if Santo is to lead the Hammers out of trouble this season, and according to Kaveh Solhekol, there are already plans for January.
“My understanding is that West Ham are targeting at least one defender, one midfielder and one attacker when the window opens in January,” he said. The report should come as no surprise in the wake of the boycott, with Sullivan likely wanting to get something out there to excite fans and show that he is trying to fix the current situation. Whether West Ham can execute on landing good players in all three of those positions remains to be seen, with January usually proving to be a tricky and expensive window.
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