How could West Ham line-up next season?

Article by Tom Burford

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It occurred to me today that if the names being touted for a transfer to West Ham all come off, they will have some really good strength and depth going into this long hard season.

One positive to take from this heavy summer schedule is that new manager Slaven Bilic will get to see his full squad in a large amount of competitive matches before the season kicks off away to Arsenal on 8th August.

I’ve put together what I think West Ham’s first match-day squad could look like, if we are to take into account completed transfers and the strength and depth of the team.

Formation: 4-1-2-1-2

GK – Adrian

The Spanish stopper had an absolutely superb campaign for the Hammers, most probably because he had a serious amount of work to do for the second half of the season. He does have a howler in him but he was one of West Ham’s most consistent performers and will only lose the number 1 spot through injury or a bit of squad rotation to cope with the fixture build up.

RB – Carl Jenkinson

West Ham really need to get this deal nailed down as soon as they can. Jenkinson has made it clear he favours a move back to East London after snubbing a move to the North East with Sunderland. He probably knows that if he is to stay at Arsenal, he’ll be playing second fiddle to Hector Bellerin for the right-back spot. He was solid defensively but also offered a serious threat on the break with his pace. Regular first team football in the BPL will only enhance his England credentials.

CB – Winston Reid

For me one of the best centre-backs in the league, it’s no wonder he attracted interest from Arsenal last term. He’s absolutely solid at the back and worked extremely well with all of his different defensive partners last season. He’s excellent on the ball aswell, showing a really good eye for a pass. He’s always a threat from set-pieces too. If he stays fit, he’s West Ham’s first choice in this position.

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CB – James Tomkins

I’ve gone for James Tomkins over ‘The Ginger Pele’ simply because of his younger legs in a long season ahead. James Collins could easily play alongside Reid without the West Ham faithful worrying too much. Tomkins is the most recent shining light from West Ham’s prestigious youth academy, which seems to be struggling to provide the talent they once did for the first team.

LB- Aaron Cresswell

Last year’s ‘Hammer of the Year’ took to life in the Premier League like a duck to water. Without wanting to put a jinx on him, he played every single league game last term, something that’s completely unheard of at West Ham these days. That fitness record will be pivotal for West Ham’s punishing schedule in the 2015/16 season. Similarly to Jenkinson, Cresswell was excellent defensively, but also posed a threat in attack with his pace and ability to deliver pin-point crosses & set-pieces.

CDM – Cheikou Kouyate

When strong, ball winning midfielder Mo Diame left West Ham looking for a top 6 club (relegated Hull City) West Ham fans were worried about the lack of steel in the centre of the park. But Cheikou Kouyate soon put those worries to bed, with a string of memorable performances in the Hammers midfield. He popped up with a few cheeky goals aswell and even more importantly made the switch to centre half during a couple of injury crises throughout the season. He’s a really important part of this campaign.

CM – Pedro Obiang

Obiang is West Ham’s first outfield signing of the season and looks a class act. He arrives with a huge reputation from Serie A and should slot in nicely, he’ll definitely get plenty of opportunities and if he plays as well as I’ve seen him for Sampdoria over the last couple of years, he’ll be a first team regular without question.

Pedro Obiang

CM – Mark Noble/Alex Song

This will be a tough one to call if Alex Song does make a West Ham return. Mark Noble has been firm fan favourite at Upton Park for many seasons now and is beginning to reach the dreaded ‘undroppable’ tag. I’m not criticising Noble whatsoever as I thought in patches last season, he played some of the best football of his career, but Alex Song (for the first half of the season at least) was head and shoulders above anyone in that midfield. I wish Bilic all the best if this becomes a genuine dilemma.

CAM – Dimitri Payet

A lot of French imports receive a lot of criticism for not being able to adapt to the ways of the Premier League. Form is temporary but class is permanent, they say, Payet has both. He scored 7 goals and made and incredible 21 assists from right-wing last season (more assists than christiano Ronaldo), that is quite astonishing. He is 28 now and some may think the £14m price tag may be a bit steep, but there’s no doubt he’d be invaluable for West Ham this year. Last season was no flash in the pan either. If you look at his career stats, he has either scored or provided a goal in every other game that he has played. That’s better than any West Ham player for a long, long time

ST – Diafra Sakho

I’ve gone with Sakho over Valencia because of the Ecuadorian’s very disappointing finish to the season. I’d pick out the Burnley, Villa and Everton games in particular. He looked completely disinterested. Fans that I’ve spoken with put that down to Sakho being given the nod over Valencia when Andy Carroll regained his fitness. Both strikers as a partnership fired at the start of the campaign and there’s no doubt Valencia is class, but Sakho took his chances when he was fit, and deserves to lead the line if he’s fit by the start of the season.

ST – Charlie Austin

This would be a terrific signing for West Ham. He scored 18 league goals in an absolute shambles of a QPR side last year and nearly kept them up on his own. He’s got absolutely everything you would want in a striker and I’m going to put my neck out and say he’ll be a better striker that Harry Kane down the line. If Austin had the service Kane did last year, I think he’d be tussling with Sergio Aguero at the top of the goalscoring charts. If he and Payet could be acquired, West Ham will score an awful lot of goals.

Subs

GK – Darren Randolph

From the small amount I’ve seen of him he looks a competent number 2. He’ll definitely get some games this season with the amount of games to be played.

CB – James Collins

As I mentioned above, Collins only misses out because I think Tomkins’ body will cope with the fixture congestion better. He’s a big, brave, old-fashioned centre-half and will put everything on the line for his team.

RW – Stuart Downing

Really flourished in the CAM role in Sam’s diamond formation for the first half of last season, but struggled to get a foothold in games when he was moved back to right-wing. He doesn’t have the legs for that role these days. But he will be more than useful as part of the squad for this season.

CM/CAM/RM/LM – Morgan Amalfitano

Put in some solid performances for the team last year and scored a couple of big goals, namely against Liverpool and Manchester City. I do sometimes feel he’s a little bit lightweight, but there’s no doubting his technique when in possession of the ball.

CM – Diego Poyet

I didn’t feel we saw enough of Poyet last season. He looked very comfortable in the games that he did play and will certainly see more action than he did last year. Definitely one for the future.

ST – Enner Valencia

He could have been in ahead of Sakho if it wasn’t for his second half slump. On his day though, he’s a class act, but he hasn’t been ‘on his day’ for some time for West Ham.

CAM/ST – Mauro Zarate

It can only have been because of a behind the scenes bust up that Zarate was shipped off to QPR on loan last season. He was in devastating form in the games against Crystal Palace (A) and Everton (A). The worry is the same thing appeared to happen at QPR. David Gold clearly stated this week that every player will get a clean slate under the new manager, let’s hope Zarate makes the most of it.