West Ham have learnt their lesson this summer

Article by e-West Ham Correspondent Brandon Freeman

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West Ham’s transfer activity, or lack of it, last summer came under immense scrutiny by hammers fans who rightly feared that a lack of transfer business may correspond with a lack of success in the league. Unfortunately, we were proven right with record signing Andy Carroll spending the majority of last season on the treatment table, meaning the club came horribly unstuck having placed all their eggs in one basket. The 2013/14 campaign proved to be a nail biting one, characterised by a lack of goals with West Ham scoring just 40 goals in 38 games, having to wait until the penultimate game of the season to secure Premier League football with a 2-0 win over Tottenham.

Thankfully, this season the West Ham board have promised wholesale changes in both staff and players and have thus far demonstrated their desire to improve the style of play and quality of football on show at the Boleyn in our penultimate season at Upton Park. The overall approach to the transfer window is commendable and shows that the board have learnt from their disastrous recruitment drive last season; firstly with the speed in which they have brought reinforcements into the squad, having already signed 4 high profile players in the early weeks of the new season. Securing signings early is always advantageous, enabling the new players to settle in to their new surroundings and in the cases of Senegal international Cheikhou Kouyate and Argentinean striker Mauro Zarate, the necessary time to adapt to new cultures. It is not only the speed of arrivals at Upton Park which has impressed hammers fans but also the quality of players, with the board having pulled off two coup’s by signing Cheikhou Kouyate who had previously been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool as well as starlet Diego Poyet who had caught the eye of several top sides including Manchester City and Chelsea following a series of impressive performances in 2014 which led the player to being voted Charlton’s player of the year by fans.

Sam Allardyce’s transfer business has often been criticised in the past for showing a preference in signing older players with the necessary experience rather than bringing in flair players who can deliver a more attractive style of football. But so far fans can have no complaints over the new additions to the squad with all of the new signings but Mauro Zarate being under 25, showing the clubs desire to secure young talent with the potential to develop into top players in the Premier League. The influx of young players finally feels like the West Ham way is returning to Upton Park, just in time for our move to the Olympic Stadium, which will be a fitting venue for West Ham to launch a new chapter in the clubs history with a fresh batch of top young talent. The expected arrival of Ecuador’s world cup star Enner Valencia, for a fee rumoured to be in the region of £12m, also shows the board are far from finished flashing the cash with co-owner David Sullivan confirming this week that the club are in search of at least three more players as they plan their assault on the top-ten this season.

So what have you made of West Ham’s transfer dealings so far, and do you think Enner Valencia will be a hit or a flop with the Upton Park faithful? Leave your comments below and follow @e_westham for the latest news and views, all things West Ham.

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