Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
It’s been a miserable start to the season for West Ham especially after such high expectations from their efforts the season before. This would have been further highlighted after their 5-1 defeat to Arsenal last Saturday and manager Slaven Bilic is increasingly under pressure. He may have been given the dreaded vote of confidence by the club owners David Gold and David Sullivan but the way to really show their confidence in Bilic would be to approve a raft of signings in January in a bid to makesure that The Hammers stay the right side of the dreaded relegation zone. It’s apparent that West Ham need an injection of quality throughout the side with all departments needing an overhaul in the New Year. Here are three players that the East London side would do well to sign in the upcoming transfer window.
Asmir Begovic
The goalkeeper situation has looked a little murky at West Ham as of late. Spanish goalkeeper Adrian had been trusted with the gloves at the start of the season but after some questionable perfomances Republic Of Ireland international Darren Randolph was drafted in. It was a torrid first appearance of the season as he conceded 5 to Arsenal at Olympic Stadium and that may well now push Slaven Bilic into entering the transfer market for a steadier pair of hands. That man could very well be Asmir Begovic of Chelsea. The Canadian born Bosnia international has been keeping the bench warm at Stamford Bridge and could be tempted for a short move across London in a bid for first team football.
The 29 year old featured quite heavily last season as he was favoured by former interim manager Guus Hiddink but since Antonio Conte has come in Belgian Thibaut Courtois has been reinstated as the clubs undisputed number one. With Begovic having to make do with the EFL Cup of which they were subsequently knocked out by West Ham in the 4th Round and the fact that there is no European football for Chelsea only limits Begovic’s game time even further. The move that could suit all parties is a loan deal until the end of the season. The main reason for this is that you would expect Chelsea to once again be in Europe next season and therefore Begovic will be required in a more prominent role as understudy to Courtois. But in the short terms a move to the London Stadium could do Begovic and West Ham the world of good.
Marouane Fellaini
West Ham have looked incredibly soft in the middle of the park this season and they could do with something of an aerial presence especially with the nature of Andy Carroll’s stop start fitness record. The man to fill that role could very well be Marouane Fellaini of Manchester United. The Belgian has increasingly had to make do with a substitute role at Old Trafford and he certainly wouldn’t have enamoured himself to Jose Mourinho after giving away that clumsy penalty that allowed Everton to draw level at Goodison Park. It won’t necessarily be that one tackle alone that sees Fellaini shown the Old Trafford exit door but as Mourinho looks to continue this work in progress Fellaini looks set to be one of the big casualties.
The 28 year old is in his fourth season at Old Trafford and has only recorded 7 goals in 72 matches for The Red Devils. You could argue that the three managers that have been in charge of him have failed to get the best of him with him being disposed in a litany of positions during his time in Manchester. He always seems to be a square peg in a round hole and perhaps it’s time he moved away from the United spotlight and went to a club that could not only offer him regular first team football but a chance to really excel like he did during 5 seasons he spent at Goodison Park. There is still a good player in there somewhere it just needs the right manager to be able to get the best him and reap the rewards that would bring.
Alexsandar Mitrovic
West Ham are lacking real quality this season. Not only that but a real lack of personnel, it’s fair to say that they have been unlucky with injuries but with the regularity that they occurring you do have to perhaps question the preparation that the players are going through. The crisis is no greater than in the final third of the pitch and Slaven Bilic will have to look to reinforcements if they are to pull themselves away from the bottom three. They could do worse off than looking at Newcastle’s Alexsandar Mitrovic, the bad boy of The Toon is seemingly on a fair few Premier League clubs radars as the panic buying season is soon to begin in earnest.
Due to Dwight Gayle being such a revelation this season, Mitrovic has had to take somewhat of a backseat. He has only found the net 3 times in 11 appearances but although that isn’t a blistering goal record at Championship level he does obviously have top flight experience from Newcastle’s doomed campaign last time around. Although Newcastle failed to beat the drop, the Serbian international still managed score on 9 occasions and that goal tally may be deemed worthy enough for certain Premier League managers to take a punt on the services of Mitrovic. He may be able to find the net on a regular basis but he is also very capable of talking himself into the referee’s notebook. Bilic may have to approach with caution but perhaps he may be the man to cool the Serb’s wild temperament.
