West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo appeals in West Ham United's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur | Justin Setterfield/Getty Imagesplaceholder image
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo appeals in West Ham United's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur | Justin Setterfield/Getty Images | Getty Images
Nuno Epirito Santo’s side need to finish January strongly to have any hope of Premier League survival - but can they finish strongly in the transfer market too?
Only two Premier League teams have had a busier January transfer window than West Ham United so far, with the penny having finally dropped for David Sullivan, Karen Brady and co. that their asset will be competing in the Championship next season without immediate help.
While fans might’ve hoped they could’ve got to this point sooner, the arrival of Taty Castellanos and Pablo for almost £50 million combined may just provide the goals needed to fire The Hammers to safety and extend their Hammers’ 14-year stay in the Premier League. However, it remains a problem that when West Ham have opened the chequebook it’s often had disastrous consequences.
Managerial overhaul with no real continuity of philosophies or long-term planning has been part of the issue and Nuno Espirito Santo doesn’t look like he’ll be spending years at the London Stadium, so West Ham need to target players who can help them now but are versatile enough to switch roles next season if required. And with that in mind, we asked Grok to predict how the rest of their transfer window could look.
Two high-risk moves predicted for West Ham
Axel Disasi - loan from Chelsea: Grok also offered up Tyrone Mings from Aston Villa, and Victor Lindelöf from Manchester United as centre-back options, so take this one with a pinch of salt, as it plumped for the Chelsea’s £39m signing.
That being said, West Ham do need defensive help and the loan market is probably the best place to find it. The main issue with either Mings or Disasi as that The Hammers need not just quality at the back, but reliability so they don’t need either Mings’ injury history or someone who last played a senior game in April.
Adama Traoré - £7m from Fulham: Santo is reportedly targeting one his former Molineux stars in Traoré, whose contract expires this summer. Someone you completely forgotten had played for Barcelona, Traoré only actually has 14 goals and 22 assists in 262 Premier League games but remains a cult hero of the English top flight - but they’re not always the most helpful signings when you’re mired in a relegation scrap.
Given the fact that Fulham have got one of the shallowest squads (on terms of depth, not how superficial they are) and Traoré has still only started two games outside the League Cup, this could backfire for West Ham if it actually happens.
The ‘New Busquets’ leaves West Ham
Guido Rodríguez - £5m to Atlanta United: The MLS side have expressed an interest in Rodriguez who has flopped at the London Stadium in 2024, but was at least a free transfer.
Rather hilariously and unironically called “Our Busquets” by Atlanta fans excited at his arrival (who have presumably never actually watched Busquets or Rodríguez play) making a profit on Rodriguez would be great business by the Hammers at this stage.
So would West Ham’s business be better this year if Grok has it all right? It certainly couldn’t get much worse - just this season, Mateus Fernandes and Mads Hermansen have failed to live up to their hefty price tags, last season it was Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Füllkrug, and before that Gianluca Scamacca, Sébastien Haller and Jordan Hugill are among the numerous flops the Hammers have endured. Perhaps it will all be different this time around...
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