Piece By Piece, Hammers Jig Saw Makes For Pleasant Viewing

Loan signing Manuel Lanzini has completed his permanent transfer to West Ham United from Al Jazira, Lanzini has signed a four year deal with the option of a two year extension, the fee involved is just under £10 Million including fees and add ons. The 'little jewel', as he is known by Lionel Messi and his Argentina team mates, has pledged his future to a team that has also just renegotiated and extended Check Kayoute's contract along with that of the mercurial Dimitri Payet.
Diafra Sakho, Mark Noble, James Tomkins, Winston Reid, Aaron Cresswell and James Collins have all recently signed new deals on improved terms, and the fresh crop of talented youngsters currently on the books are also being tied up to long term contracts, also not forgetting the arrival ahead of schedule of Sam Byram. All in all things are looking very bright for the future of West Ham, no longer a selling club and now a club that has genuine appeal, and a club that will literally move the goal posts at the end of the season following the move to the mighty Olympic Stadium! Co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan really pushed the boat out during the summer transfer window and spent much more than they would have wished, they were able to do so by taking a 'pay day loan' against forthcoming revenue from a Bahamas based holding company, Hammers are not the only Barclays Premier League club to use this facility. Bearing these details in mind, fans should not expect the same level of transfer activity in the next window, however there will definitely be a bit of a clear out as the squad is tweaked rather than totally overhauled, after all £10 Million of the budget has been spent on Lanzini and an as yet undisclosed amount rumoured to be £7.5 Million has to be paid to Leeds United for Sam Byram.
The new TV revenue will kick in next season, exactly how much West Ham will receive is dependant on where the club finishes in the League, and if Champion's League qualification is attained! Now who would have thought that prospect would even have been on the horizon? It is another illustration of just how far the club has come, progress that has been rightly over shadowed by Leicester City's magnificent season, but progress none the less, and progress that had almost entirely gone under the radar until recently. Piece by piece the Hammers jig saw is shaping up, all the elements are there, and in Slaven Billic there is a manager and man that supporters relate to, someone who tells it how it is, and someone who really cares. - Ed