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With so much media speculation as to who will go where and who will arrive, it is easy to forget that the Barclays Premier League season starts in just a couple of weeks from today. West Ham have today's 'friendly' against Fulham at Craven Cottage, a hastily arranged game in Austria and a final match against Atletic Bilbao before the season's opener against Manchester City at the London Stadium on the 10th of August.

The huge sums of money in wages and transfer fees associated with players involved in the Barclays Premier League sometimes lead to 'pound blindness', at least in England. West Ham have recruited wisely, as they did last season, but there is one bit of business that pure logic dictates that the club have to do, and that is sell Javier Hernadez.

Although pre-season games don't always give a true picture of how a team will be prepared to start the new season, one glaringly obvious fact has emerged, namely Hammers are woefully short of defensive midfielder, a situation made more pronounced by the imminent departure of Pedro Obiang from the London Stadium. Declan Rice is the number one choice, but with Obiang gone the only recognised first team player is Carlos Sanchez who's woeful performances have been truly lamentable.

Reports emanating from across the pond are suggesting New York Red Bulls defender Aaron Long has been offered to West Ham this summer, with the 26-year-old available for a bargain £4 Million. Long has been in fine form for the Red Bulls, making 83 league appearances across three campaigns with the Major League Soccer side. He also won the 2018 MLS Defender of the Year award.

If West Ham had played a full strength team against Newcastle in the Asia Trophy Cup and ran out comfortable winners, fans would have said "So What, it's only Newcastle". Paradoxically by playing a weakened team Manuel Pelegrini has been roundly criticised! In case it has escaped the cognosenti, these Asia Trophy matches are warm up games for the Barclays Premier League 'proper'. The games are a focal taster of what the best league in the World can offer, and as such are friendlies with a bit of bite.

Newcastle: Dubravka, Sterry, Schar, Lascelles, Clark, Ritchie, Colback, Hayden, Shelvey, Muto, Sorensen. Subs: Darlow, Woodman, Manquillo, Fernández, Lazaar, Bailey, Watts, Ki, S. Longstaff, M. Longstaff, Murphy, Aarons, Allan.
West Ham:: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Cullen, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Anderson, Hernandez. Subs: Martin, Roberto, Fredericks, Johnson, Obiang, Sanchez, Wilshere, Snodgrass, Noble, Diangana, Antonio.

Manuel Pellegrini along with his Director of Football Mario Husillos have put their stamp on the way West Ham recruit players, and the Irons look to be moving in the right direction with some brilliant acquisitions, so why on Earth would they bring in Gary Medel as a Pedro Obiang replacement, as claimed could happen by ExWHUemployee on The West Ham Way podcast? Would it be another superb deal? We think not!

Even the most begrudging of supporters must surely be giving the Hammers board some credit for the recent business they have recently conducted, the early arrival of Pablo Fornals followed by the record signing of Sebastian Haller is a show of real intent by the club.

Finally true to their word, the Hammers hierarchy have been dragged, mewling and puking, towards becoming a 'professionally run' football club by adroit pressure being applied by manager Manuel Pellegrini and head of recruitment Mario Husillos. The acquisition of Pablo Fornals and Sebastian Haller is a hugely significant statement from the club that along with other shrewd acquisitions might just see West Ham break in to the top six of the Barclays Premier League.

West Ham United's spirited but unsuccessful match against Premier League champions Manchester City ended in a 4-1 defeat, City's full strength team showed exactly why they are the Champions, but if lady luck had been smiling the score line would have been a much more respectable 4-3.